Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II
by Ice Prince Hitsugaya
Summary: A continuation of; Inverted Sky: KH 358 2 days. Sora has awakened at last, and finds that the worlds are once again in disarray. Now it is up to her and her friends to save everyone, all while battling Organization 13. Join our heroines and heroes in their journey to protect and bring peace to the worlds, as well as to fend off a new enemy rising from the shadows.
1. Twilight Town part I

**Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Epilogue

Seven days.

Seven days have passed since the rescue of Roxas, as well as the death of Xion. But at the same time, it also brought about the opening of multiple passageways into an equal number of strange worlds. Most of which had not been seen or visited for hundreds of years. Yet they would mark the starting point for many new adventures ahead for Sora and her friends.

However, in the midst in of this journey, a new threat will slowly arise in the most terrifying and least expected way imaginable. Though, where this danger ascends, there will be a countering force to oppose it. Which side will win? Should there be a victor? And what part do these new worlds play in all this?

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Chapter 1: Twilight Town part I

Floating, weightless, yet somehow never moving.

However, a single name was heard echoing from a young boy's voice, as if calling out to this person. "Sora..."

Immediately following this, the brown-haired teen slowly opened her eyes. She felt a strange mixture of exhaustion and being energetic, which made her unsure if she wanted to get up or go back to sleep. However, she chose the former of the two as her foggy vision began to clear and showed a curved grey wall in front of her. Blinking a few times, she reached out to touch the surface. Yet before her hand could touch it, the wall suddenly seemed to split open and slowly lower away from her. This allowing Sora to slowly sink to the floor of the pod she was inside of, as well as to reveal many of her friends standing there waiting for her.

A smiling Kairi gazed up at her with eyes filled with both longing, and worry. Though the main thing that Sora noticed, was that she was wearing a much different outfit than the one she saw when merged with Xion. Previously the auburn-haired girl's clothing had consist of a pink strapless mini-dress, which had three separate zippers. She also used to wear a white halter top with a black hood under this, a set of three bracelets on her left wrist, a black belt around her waist, and lilac sneakers with black laces.

However, her new appearance was that of a long, thin, pink vest. Which reached down to her knees, while the front of the garment was held together by a single silver, heart-shaped pin just under her chest. It also had thin purple straps that shared the same coloring as the lining, though it also gave good contrast to the black sides of the vest. Underneath this was a black, strapless mini dress, while further under this were a pair of purple spat shorts. Her shoes were now knee-high boots that were purple on the sides, black in the middle and white lines in-between. She was also wearing two bracelets on either wrist and the same necklace she had always been wearing since childhood.

Riku on the other hand was still wearing the same outfit he had before, it being the Organization's coat. Yet, unlike the last time Sora had seen him, he had cut his previously long hair to just over chin length. But aside from this change, he still appeared mostly the same as he gave his friend a bit more serious of a serious gaze, despite the small smile of relief.

Meanwhile, Donald appeared as if he was trying not to cry in seeing Sora awake again, yet was failing miserably. But Goofy beside him was just openly crying happily while giving a wave of greeting to their friend. Mickey was also standing next to them and gave a soft smile toward her, as if he was simply proud that they've made it this far.

On the other side, Namine had an expression of utter relief on her features. Though she quickly took on a smirk in happiness for Sora's release from her sleep, she appeared almost tired from all the work she did. Lastly, DiZ remained in the doorway to just watch all this with his only visible eye, which was slightly narrowed on the brown-haired teen.

Whom now had much longer hair, which reached past her lower back, yet kept most of its spikiness on the top. She was also much taller now as well, but her height was still a nearly perfect 'middle ground' between Riku and Kairi. The latter of whom quickly took notice of one fact that made her almost disheartened for a brief few seconds. Sora's chest was almost twice the size of her own, something that the brown-haired teen likely would not notice whatsoever until it was pointed out to her.

Upon seeing so many of her friends gathered, Sora jumped down from the pod and gave a soft smile to each of them. Though, the moment of happiness was only temporary as it came only from the relief of the girl finally awaking from her year's sleep. This becoming even more clear as Kairi eventually walked up to her brown-haired friend and hugged her tightly. In this single moment, everyone seemed to return back to the situation at hand and became fully silent. The entire room becoming fully silent as even the machinery had been turned off by this point.

"I'm sorry Sora...I'm so sorry." the auburn-haired teen whispered silently as none of them seemed to know what else to say.

Though, while looking from Kairi to the others, Sora simply brought her arms around her friend and gave a somewhat weak smile to everyone. "It's alright you guys." she started while slowly separating from her friend.

"When Xion's and my memories linked together, our hearts also formed a connection." Sora began with a hand placed over her heart.

"But when she died...it was severed." she muttered out silently, her not wanting to remember the events that took place.

"However, when Roxas merged with me...I could feel it again." the teen claimed as her eyes closed, to which everyone just blinked a few times before nodding slightly in understanding.

"She's somewhere deep within my heart, so just like with Teng..." she started before snapping her eyes open; "...I'm going to find a way to bring her back!"

Upon her declaration, everyone could see the conviction in her narrowed eyes. This lead for many of them to nod their heads in agreement, as well as to give a small smile. Each one showing that they would be right beside her the whole way, no matter what happened. However, this somewhat happy mood was only paper thin. The real reason for much of their despair toward Sora, were the other five deaths that occurred during her sleep. Something of which the teen didn't seem to even want to bring up. But, her next words had immediately shown that it was still a prominent thought within her mind.

"As well as take down the entirety of Organization 13." she all but growled out as her gaze suddenly darkened and her jaw clenched tightly together.

The look in her eyes quickly caught the attention of DiZ, making him take on a small smirk in response. Meanwhile, Kairi quickly placed a hand on Sora's shoulder, as if to make sure the teen didn't run off impulsively. "You're not thinking of doing anything reckless, are you?" she questioned quickly with a hard gaze.

The brown-haired girl turned to her with a raised brow before shrugging her shoulders. "Not at all." was all she said, which made Riku step forward.

"You can't seriously be thinking of trying to storm their base again. All of us together couldn't defeat them, there is no way it would be any different now." the teen boy claimed firmly while looking at his friend in a stern manner.

Sora simply smirked to this before looking down to one of her gloved hands, to which she flex it briefly in front of herself. "You forget...when Xion merged with Roxas, all of her powers also flowed into him. So by extension, when he merged with me...their powers did as well." she said calmly while looking to her two childhood friends.

"I'm easily two or three times stronger than when I fought Marluxia." the teen claimed, causing many of their eyes to widen in shock.

However, just when they started wondering if an attack against the Organization could work, Sora continued on. "But..." she muttered silently, lowering her hand and closing both eyes.

"...even with all this new power...I still don't stand a chance against Xemnas." the girl finished, making the others stare with slightly widened eyes.

"When Xion and I were merged, we used the most powerful magic we have ever been able to accomplish to that point. And yet, he just shrugged it off like it was nothing. So I know without a doubt, his power is well beyond anything I'm capable of right now." Sora mused on as the shock everyone was feeling had just multiplied.

Yet, despite all of this, Kairi took one of Sora's gloved hands into her own and took on a small smile. "No matter what trials or enemies come our way...we'll overcome them all. Cause nothing is stronger than our hearts and the bonds we share." she claimed with an unparalleled conviction in her tone and eyes.

This made the brown-haired teen blink in surprise for a moment before she just smiled back and nodded. "Very true. We'll be able to do anything so long as we stick together!" Sora declared as her lips curled into her signature grin.

"Ugh...are you two really going to do another 'friendship speech'?" Riku muttered silently with a light groan and roll of his eyes.

Both Sora and Kairi turned to him with a huff and pout; "Did you have to ruin the moment?" the latter questioned while the pair crossed their arms.

"He's just jealous because he has to keep up his 'cool' and 'tough guy' act." the former muttered in a teasing tone.

"Th-That's not true at all!" the silver-haired teen stated quickly, yet his brief stutter almost seemed to confirm his friend's words.

After a brief moment of laughter between the group of friends, they soon paused and turned toward DiZ as he spoke up. "Pardon my intrusion, but there are many matters that require our attention." he stated, him obviously including Sora with saying 'our'.

The brown-haired teen blinked to him briefly, yet soon raised a hand. "Before we get to that, I have to ask you two things." the girl spoke up as she tilted her head slightly to the side and raised a brow.

"Who exactly are you? And what is it that you want?" she questioned, the teen keeping her arms crossed while asking this.

Said man just gaze at her with a hard gaze, as if he was debating whether or not he should tell her. But as he turned his back toward everyone, it seemed as if he had no intention of answering Sora's inquires. However, rather than starting to walk away, he simply spoke up in a more silent tone than before. "I am simply a servant of the worlds. As for what I want, there is but one thing that I seek..." he said in his deep and silent voice.

Though, just before he spoke his last words, he glanced over toward Sora from over his shoulder with a familiar gaze. "...the same thing you do, my dear."

Upon these words, the brown-haired teen stared at the man for a few seconds, yet simply sighed with a nod. "Meh...good enough." she muttered with a shrug of her shoulders.

This lead for each of them to make their way out of the pure white room and into the hall of the mansion. Of which had a large scorch mark in the center, something of which they seemed to avoid out of simple respect. Once each of the seven had gathered in a near circle, they each looked to DiZ to continue on with his previous words. Despite Sora being the only one who didn't know what was going to be said, the others remained by her sides as if to show their support.

"Now then, I understand that you wish to take the fight to Organization 13 as fast as possible. But right now, there are very dire problems in need of your attention, Keyblade wielder." the dark skinned man began as he placed both hands behind his back, his voice echoing lightly through the room.

"I'm sure you remember seeing the increasing number of Heartless in the many worlds you previously visited through Xion's memories?" he asked, his tone sounding more like he was stating something than questioning it.

After Sora gave a nod in response, DiZ spoke on while slowly pacing from side to side. "However, in the last few days...there have been an enormous influx of Heartless and Nobodies in each of those worlds, as well as many other worlds you have yet to see."

"Though they can't take the heart of the worlds you sealed off, they can still spread as much darkness as they please. Therefore, I must ask of you to travel to each of the worlds in danger and do two simple things. The first is to seal the heart of the worlds you have yet to visit, and the second...is to use a very powerful spell on each world that will repel the Heartless and Nobodies from invading any further." DiZ explained silently while finally stopping in his pacing and turned to face Sora once more.

"The spell itself is a difficult one and will require a teacher whom has extensive knowledge in it. But as I personally do not know it, and even King Mickey is in the process of learning it, you will have to go and see Master Yen Sid to receive his teachings." the man said with a glance over toward Mickey.

"He was once King Mickey's master, so he knows the way. Therefore, you won't get lost along the way." he finished with a very brief glance toward Riku, to which the brown-haired girl blinked a few times.

Yet this gaze to the silver-haired boy made her quickly turned to him as well, Riku himself having a light smirk on his features. "You told him about the time I got lost in town, didn't you?" she growled out at him.

Riku just shrugged his shoulders, him then gaining a slightly wider smirk. "It might have come up in conversation once or twice." was all he answered with before quickly running off, causing the girl to immediately give chase.

"I was only five at the time!" Sora yelled out along the way, all of which making the others laugh from the scene.

"She's got a long journey ahead of her." DiZ whispered silently as he remained the only serious one.

"Let's just hope she's ready for it." he finished, a hard gaze focusing solely on the brown-haired teen.


	2. Twilight Town part II

**I'm not sure what's going on, but every time I tried to post this chapter, an error message popped up. I don't know when it'll finally go through, but I hope some might see this at some point. I also hope everyone is enjoying this part of the story. It might only be the second chapter, but I'm hoping that all of you out there like the direction everything is going. Anyway, onto the chapter.**

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 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 2: Twilight Town part II

"So 'that's' how you moved the whole room with me in it?" Sora questioned with blinking eyes while she and the others, save for DiZ, walked through the forest outside the mansion.

Mickey leading the way as the others followed along a few yards behind. Riku and Kairi where on either side of the brown-haired teen, while Namine Donald and Goofy were out in front of the trio. Though, the blond had drifted back slowly to walk closer to Sora while answering the girl's question. "Yep...not much to it really." she responded with a shrug of her shoulders.

Sora simply sighed to this and glanced to the side while pouting; "Well that's kind of a let down, I was hoping for some big thing." she muttered silently, causing her friends to laugh lightly.

"Hmph...you were only expecting something special because you wanted to try to do it yourself." Riku added, making Sora pout deeper toward him and Donald to nod in agreement.

"Hey~! What's wrong with that~?" the brown-haired girl called out before huffing as the others simply laughed in response.

"Well, I'm sure there will be plenty of other things for you to see and learn along our travels." Kairi added with a soft smile to her friend.

Whom returned this expression before giving a nod of her head in agreement; "Yeah, and it'll be even better better together with you." she whispered while staring into the auburn-haired girl's eyes.

Yet these words made everyone turn toward the teen in either shock or amazement. However, it didn't take long for Sora to realize her words' implications and started blushing deeply. All the while, Kairi's own cheeks began to flush a bright red, to which she quickly looked down in order to hide this fact. However, Sora had already noticed and made her blush increase even more. But after a brief moment, she immediately cleared her throat and looked around to everyone. "A-All of you! 'All of you', is what I meant to say!" she announced in a tone that was too forced for anyone to believe.

The group just nodded in response to her as they soon exited the forest through a triangle-shaped hole in the wall surrounding Twilight Town. Though, the subject has all but been forgotten when a large group of Heartless suddenly appeared around them. There being several very large and obviously very powerful Heartless in the gathering as well. This lead for each of the seven to summon their own unique weapons, which allowed Sora to finally see that just like Kairi, Namine was wielding a mage's staff.

The auburn-haired girl's weapon having a color scheme that reminded Sora of a sunset while a vine appeared to wrap around the shaft. But the top of the staff had a series of flowers that held a multitude of colors. Meanwhile, the blond's weapon was mostly white and had a large golden hoop on the top with a star of the same color in the center. Though, upon further inspection, there also appeared to be engravings in the shape of moons and stars all along the surface.

Sora then turned her gaze over to Riku as she noticed that his weapon had changed from the last time. It now having a white wing near the tip, as well as another that made up half of the weapon's guard, while the other half was that of a bat's wing. Despite the fact that the other three seemed to have the same weapons as before, the brown-haired teen could feel that they were somehow more powerful than before.

As the Heartless began their attack, the group effortlessly defeated more than half of them one after another. The weaker ones being the first to rush toward the seven as the stronger ones were continuing to summon more to fight on their behalf. But it was clear from the rate of their defeat that the more powerful Heartless would have to fight very soon.

However, a sudden scream from further within the town distracted the group briefly, to which Sora's eyes narrowed while looking in this direction. She then flipped over one of the stronger Heartless' slashes and rushed toward the scream's source. "You guys take care of things here! I'll make sure the people are okay!" the teen called out as she quickly vanished from beyond a slope.

Kairi glanced over toward Riku as she shot a Thunder spell to destroy several Heartless near of her. The silver-haired teen gazed back to her and nodded his head in response to her unspoken words. This lead for Kairi to immediately rush after Sora while Riku defeated several Heartless that tried to get in her way. Once she made it through the swarming creatures of darkness, he narrowed his eyes on the larger Heartless to his right side. "I think it's time to finish things up here." he muttered while getting into a fighting pose before vanishing.

He then appeared on the other side of the large beasts, all of which just seemed to freeze in place before instantly disappearing. Riku let out a sigh and turned around to the couple dozen smaller Heartless remaining; "Now for the clean up." he whispered in a heavier sigh.

Meanwhile, Sora arrived in an area that had been titled as 'The Sandlot' on the street sign. Her immediately seeing a group of several dozen Heartless surrounding what appeared to be three teenagers. Though there were a few other people in the area, the creatures of darkness seemed to be ignoring them as they ran away. Sora narrowed her eyes to this and rushed over to help the teens, each of whom were fighting back with strange blue and yellow weapons.

But one in particular caught Sora's attention as despite his attacks going right through the Heartless, his technique with the weapon appeared very impressive. With a combination of slashes, dodging spins, flipping of his weapon and thrusts, his sword skill was actually quite amazing to see. 'I wonder if he could teach me some swordsmanship techniques.' Sora thought briefly while continuing to rush forward.

Within moments, the trio was pushed back and to the ground as they could no longer fight these opponents they couldn't even physically touch. This lead for the brown-haired teen to quickly flip into the air, spin around mid-flight and land in front of three with her back facing them. Just before landing however, Sora had slashed at the attacking creatures and destroyed many of them from this single strike.

While standing upright, the brown-haired girl used her free hand to flip her hair out to the side and back. Much of her long locks landing over her shoulder and chest when touching down on the ground. This unintentionally giving her a rather heroic appearance as she then glanced over her shoulder to look at the teens. "You alright?" Sora asked with a small smirk.

Due to her sudden arrival, as well as her somewhat 'over the top' entrance, none of the three seemed to be able to muster any words. Even the boy whom had the impressive sword technique could only look up to her with blinking eyes. Him almost appearing mesmerized by the girl, whom slowly turned back to the Heartless and narrowed her eyes. Many of which were starting to encircle them in order to attack all at once, to which Sora huffed silently.

"Alright...that's enough out of all of you." she whispered before snapping her fingers, which summoned many bolts of lightning.

These almost instantly defeating every last Heartless in the area, including the larger ones. After a brief glance around the Sandlot, Sora unsummoned her Keyblade and glanced down at her hand. 'I can definitely feel the increase in power. But it also feels much harder to control. I guess I'll have to do a lot more training than before in order to make sure I'm able to use these new powers correctly.' she thought quickly to herself before turning to face the trio.

"You guys aren't hurt, are you?" she asked with a small smile and offered her hand to the lead teen.

This person was a blond haired boy with a black beanie over his head, as well as a blue crop-top vest with white lining. This garment being underneath a long white jacket, which had no sleeves and black lined pockets. He also had baggy, aubergine colored pants, the ends of which were tucked into a black pair of combat boots. The teen's eyes appeared to be blue-green in color and a long scar was visible on his face, which almost looked like a mirroring of Leon's.

On the boy's right was a larger male teen, whom had tan skin and short black hair with long sideburns. He did appear much taller than the other teens, including Sora, though he also had a very muscular build to go along with it. His clothes consisted of an orange tank top that sported two thunderbolts on the upper back near his large arms. He also had baggy dark sweatpants with the number '8' on them, of which were worn over wide yellow and white shoes. Lastly, there was a thunderbolt necklace around his neck, yet it dragged slightly on the ground while he slowly looked up to Sora with his brown eyes.

All the while, the other person was a rather petite teen girl with jaw-length, light steel blue hair. She wore a blue sleeveless jacket and Capri pants that had irregularly placed pockets. One being near her thigh and the other over her lower leg. Yet while her croc-like shoes were a similar color as her hair, her piercing red eyes made a remarkable contrast to the rest of her features.

And just like the many differences between each of the three, they also had somewhat varying reactions to Sora and her actions. The blond teen just gazed at her in an almost dumbfounded way while unconsciously accepting her offered hand. After she helped him up, she went to the other two to do the same, yet he just kept staring. The others meanwhile, both looked at her in great surprise as they were greatly impressed by the girl's actions.

"You guys don't look hurt, but I would suggest that you stay in doors for a while. Those things don't typically enter buildings, so you should be a bit more safe." she said with a glance to each of the three.

It was only after this, that the blond finally seemed to snap out of his daze and huff at Sora's words. "Hmph...as the Twilight Town Disciplinary Committee, we're out here to keep the citizens safe. So there is no way we'd just going to turn tail and hide." he claimed with a firm tone.

To this, Sora blinked a few times and tilted her head. "The 'Twilight Town Disciplinary Committee'?" she echoed back silently in confusion.

"That's right. We make sure that everyone follows the rules, as well as to keep people from stepping out of line with any sort of criminal activity." the blond declared, now in a more proud tone.

"I'm the leader, Seifer. These two are Fuu and Rai, they act as my right and left hands to help me whenever I need it." the teen continued on while gesturing from the petite girl, to the larger tan boy.

"Cool~." Sora all but sang out with blinking eyes and a small smile curling her lips.

"That sort of thing sounds really awesome, do you think I could become a part-timer or something?" she questioned quickly with a slightly wider smile.

Her words quickly shocked the trio as the other two turned to Seifer, leaving him to make the decision. But while he blinked many times at Sora, he actually seemed a bit flustered for some reason. He opened his mouth to speak, yet nothing seemed to come out until after clearing his throat almost too loudly. "I suppose we could always use more members, but you'd have to prove yourself to each of us." he stated, yet his firm tone sounded almost halfhearted.

This lead for Sora to smile even wider as she quickly nodded her head; "You got it! I'll take whatever test you got." she claimed happily before raising a finger.

"Only...under one condition." the brown-haired teen continued, to which the three in front of her raised a brow in question.

"And what might that be?" Seifer asked while seeming to attempt at sounding suspicious of the girl.

"I want you to teach me your sword skill. I was really impressed from what I saw and I'd like to learn from you." Sora responded, making the others blink once more as she kept surprising them.

"But yo...aren't ya already good enough?" Rai started with a shrug of his shoulders.

"You already took out all those things in an instant, ya know." he continued, his head tilting slightly to the side in further question of the girl's motives.

"Unnecessary." Fuu added silently while placing a hand to her hip.

"Maybe...but I have pretty much zero experience with actual swordsmanship, and I have always wanted to learn it." Sora said while shrugging her shoulders and giving the three a sheepish smile.

Seifer looked down for a few moments as to think this over, to which he then looked to the brown-haired teen. Him simply gazing at her for a few moments, all the while, a light flush spread on his cheeks. However, it was too brief to notice as he quickly cleared his throat and nodded his head in response. "If you can pass all of our tests and become a member of our group, then I'll teach you some of the swordsmanship techniques I know." he answered in a voice that made it sound like he was trying not to let his voice crack.

Sora took on her signature grin and nodded her head to the blond; "You got yourself a deal!" she declared happily, yet soon turned to the side as Kairi called out to her.

The auburn-haired teen having stayed back while her friend talked to these three, the Heartless having been gone by the time she arrived. Though, when Sora glanced toward her, she noticed that Kairi was gesturing for them to return back to the group. This lead for her to then turn back to the three and offer a small smile. "Looks like I gotta go, but I'll be back soon for the tests. See ya then~!" the girl called out with a wave as she rushed off to rejoin the others.

All the while, Seifer waved briefly, yet quickly put his hand down as if thinking that something was wrong with it. "L-Lets get to work. We have a lot to get done in order to set up our tests for her." he all but ordered out when turning around to face the other two.

"Sure, but..." Rai started with blinking eyes; "...aren't you self taught in swordsmanship? How are you gonna-"

But he quickly stopped in his words as the blond cleared his throat quickly; "Like I said...we have a lot to get done." he stated while an emphasis on each word.

He then started off on his way as Rai and Fuu were left behind for a few moments, yet the former didn't seem to know what was going on with their leader. However, the latter just gazed at Seifer's leaving form and tilted her head to the side. "Crush." was all she muttered in a silent voice before following after the blond.

On the other side of the town, Sora was walking with Kairi as their group of friends were waiting in the same place the Heartless had attacked them. "Are you sure it's okay just to let them go like that? The Heartless will very likely come after them again." the auburn-haired girl questioned with blinking eyes.

"Of course. I gave them each a Reflega spell when I touched their hands to help them up." Sora responded as she winked and smiled to her friend.

"Smart." Kairi commented while nodding slowly.

"But since that worked, there is one other stop I need to make before we leave." the brown-haired girl commented as her smile grew slightly, yet her eyes seemed to have a knowing gaze in them.

Something of which made the other girl blink briefly in question, but her friend just offered a look of; 'You'll see for yourself soon enough.'

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 **I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter and the introduction of the Twilight Town Disciplinary Committee. Let me know what you thought in a review. Also, I'm still taking suggestions for possible worlds if you wanna see one that has not yet appeared. I'm not planning to do many anime, but I'm still keeping the option open since a lot of people want them to some degree or another. Anyway, until next time.**


	3. Twilight Town part III

**Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 3: Twilight Town part III

Sora slowly walked through an alleyway that showed an opening to the side, which seemed to have a torn blue sheet over it. She gazed to this silently for a few moments as she was currently alone, her having told others that she would meet them outside the train station. Yet, while looking to this strangely familiar scene, the brown-haired teen slowly closed her eyes when multiple memories from Roxas' point of view flashed through her mind.

The first was of Roxas running together with three other teens as they rushed out from beyond the sheet with smiles on their faces. Her next 'memory' was of Roxas walking and laughing with the same trio as they ate ice cream together. But the last one was of Saix standing in front of the sheet with his weapon summoned, to which Sora's eyes snapped open.

"Those seven days..." she started in a whisper before letting out a heavy breath.

"...even if they weren't real, the memories were no less important or meaningful." Sora continued, yet it was clear from her tone that she wasn't really talking to herself.

However, she quickly focused her gaze back to the blue sheet, stepped forward and moved the cloth aside. This revealing yet another strangely familiar scene as Sora saw three teenagers sitting in various spots in a small room. Said area itself had various boxes in one particular corner, a rather ragged sofa pushed against one of the walls, and an off-yellow water tank directly ahead of the entrance. All of these being used by the occupants as their choice for seats, yet they appeared right at home regardless.

The first of the trio was a brown eyed teen boy with light skin, and spiky, blond hair. He wore baggy, camouflage-print Capri pants, similarly pattered shoes, a sleeveless grey vest, and a black muscle shirt. Lastly, the boy had a brown bracelet on his left wrist with silver pins in it, as well as a white necklace that had a yellow "X" charm.

The next teen was a girl around the same age with bright green eyes, soft peach-colored skin, and brown hair. Her locks themselves stuck out on the sides, as well as had two strands that fell to either side of her head and over her shoulders. Meanwhile, her clothing consisted of an orange tank-top with a white floral design at the bottom, khaki-colored Capri pants, and cream, black and yellow shoes.

Finally, the last teen was another boy, though this one appeared to be heavier-set than the other. He also had light skin, brown eyes, and black hair that was held up using a black headband. His clothes were made up of a red jersey, as well as a short-sleeved, white shirt underneath it. The former garment sporting a black silhouette that appeared to be a skeletal dog with three bones above it. Along with this, the phrase; 'Dog Street', could been seen printed along the left side of the jersey in large, white letters. He also had on a pair of blue pants, a purple bandana around his neck, plus blue and white shoes.

Upon looking to each of these three, Sora simply smiled softly and stepped further into the room as they had yet to notice her presence. "Yo~." she all but sang out with a wave to gain their attention.

Immediately after seeing the teen, the trio blinked their eyes at not only the girl herself, but also her clothes. "Hey...um...you with all those other guys running around in those coats? You're all constantly rushing everywhere like you have a mission to save the world or something." the blond muttered with a raised brow, yet he shrugged his shoulders when ending his words.

To this, Sora blinked back to him before waving a hand and took on a small smile. "Not at all...it's just a little fashion trend. But don't worry, it's already fading. So you shouldn't many more people with them on pretty soon. I'm already planning on getting a new wardrobe soon." she claimed with a slightly wider smile, yet the three couldn't help but feel the foreboding tone the girl used midway through.

However, the raven-haired boy soon stood up from his place on the boxes and walked toward the girl. "Wait a second...you kinda look familiar." he began while tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"Now that you mention it..." the other girl added silently as she also lifted herself off the sofa and came over to Sora.

"She does look like that one girl who had the black hair and heterochromia eyes." the blond stated, him jumping away from the water tank and looked over the newcomer in the room.

"Yeah...she's my..." Sora began before quickly clearing her throat to give herself an extra moment to think of something.

"...sister." she continued silently, to which she then smiled once more with a wave of her hand.

"She's out of town right now, but she'll be back soon. I hope she was well behaved while she was here." the brown-haired girl said in a respectful tone.

This made the three other teens just nod their heads in response to the girl, yet only the raven-haired boy spoke up during this. "As far as I could tell, she was always really nice to everyone. Though...we personally never got to talk with her much, we'd be happy to befriend her when she gets back."

Sora smiled once more to the three before nodding her head in response; "Thank you so much, it really means a lot to me." she said, her keeping the respectful tone while speaking.

"No problem...oh, I'm Pence by the way." the raven-haired teen said with a gesture toward himself.

This sparked for the other two to come forward and point to themselves in some fashion or another. "I'm Olette. It's a pleasure to meet you." the girl introduced next as she gave a welcoming smile.

"The name's Hayner." the blond boy claimed, him taking on a small grin upon his features.

"I'm Sora, it's nice to meet all of you." the girl responded while smiling back to each of the three.

After sharing a brief smile, Sora glanced to the entrance and blinked a few times. "But this sure is a neat place you guys got here. It seems pretty safe compared to the other areas around town." she continued, to which she turned back to the trio with a somewhat mysterious gaze.

"I don't even think those monsters, that have been popping up lately, will even find it." the teen stated in a casual, yet also rather hinting tone.

However, none of the three seemed to catch on to the latter part of her voice as they just smiled to her. "True...they have yet to even try and get into this place." Pence claimed with a nod of his head and quick thumbs up.

Sora smiled to this as she glanced to the other two, both of whom nodded their heads in agreement to their friend's words. "Well...I do have get going, but would it be okay for me to stop by every so often? I'd really like to see and talk to all of you again." she questioned while shifting her gaze from one teen to the next.

But she didn't have long to wait for a response as Hayner waved a hand and smiled wider. "We'd be happy to have you over." he claimed as he also gave the teen a quick thumbs up.

"Just so long as you bring some snacks with you." Pence added, to which all of the teens shared a laugh.

Though, after a few moments, Sora soon spoke up once more with a quick wave while starting. "Well, I best be off. I have a bunch of other friends waiting for me at the train station." she explained, her gesturing to the entrance with her thumb at the end.

"Oh, well...would you like for us to accompany you there?" Olette asked with blinking eyes and a slight tilt of her head to the side.

"Nah, that's alright. I originally just wanted to explore the town, but I'm really glad I got to meet you three." Sora said as her smile widened, yet remained soft upon her features.

"I'll definitely make sure to stop by again soon, so make sure to stay safe." the brown-haired teen continued while waving to the three, each of whom gave a nod in response to her.

Sora then turned around, pushed the sheet out of the way and took a few steps out. Yet she soon gave one last glance and wave to the three, to which they all returned the gesture. This lead for the girl to then allow the cloth to fall back into place with the soft smile slowly fading into a thoughtful expression.

'It looks like the Heartless and Nobodies still can't seem to figure out how doors work. Even if this is just a cloth, to their minds...it's just another wall. So long as there is no immediate view of the inside, like a window, they should remain safe in there.' Sora mused as she raised a hand out toward the sheet.

'Still...just to be on the safe side. I'll make sure that nothing without some form of light can get inside.' she thought to herself, a brief white glow emitting from her hand soon after.

Immediately following this, the teen turned to the street leading upward and immediately paused. 'The 'Light'.' she thought in her mind briefly while slowly making her way up the slope-like road.

'I know Xion suspected she could use it, but she never really tested it since no one in the Organization appeared to wield it. Maybe it's time I learned to use the power of light...and this Master Yen Sid sounds like the perfect person to ask.' she continue silently, the train station finally coming into view.

Once reaching this area, Sora saw each of her friends standing outside of the tall building as they simply waited for her. This lead for the brown-haired teen to smile sheepishly toward each of them upon joining the group. "I hope you didn't wait too long." she commented, despite already knowing that they could have only arrived a few moments before she actually left the trio of friends.

"It's been ages." Riku muttered in a jokingly sarcastic manner, to which Sora just giggled and looked to each of the six.

All of them heading inside the train station as Sora walked along side her hexad of friends. Though, when they walked up the set of stairs that lead to the trains themselves, the brown-haired teen quickly looked to the one locomotive that stuck out the most. It being mostly blue and gold in color, as well as having a strange theme of stars and moons across the surface. But while the teen stood there to admire the train, each of the others boarded it one at a time.

"Cool~!" Sora sang out, yet was accompanied by three other voices.

This lead for her to quickly turn around and blink many times when seeing Hayner, Pence and Olette standing behind her. "Sorry for following you, but we all kinda felt like we should see you off." the former of the three spoke with a shrug of his shoulders.

"It just seemed like the right thing to do." Pence added, him also shrugging briefly while Sora blinked to each of them.

"Really? Well...thank you." she responded while gaining a rather happy expression upon her features.

"Don't mention it, though...where are you going exactly?" Olette inquired as she blinked a few times in curiosity to what the other girl's answer would be.

"I'm off to see a wise old man to seek enlightenment." Sora responded, making the three blink a few times before they all simply began to laugh.

While watching this, Riku and the others slowly gained small smiles as well. "Not 'this' is Sora." the boy whispered out as the others simply nodded their heads in agreement.

"The girl who can make friends with almost anyone." Kairi added softly as she had an admiring gaze while watching this scene.

"As well as make them laugh while always being honest." Namine uttered out silently, making the others nod once more.

"It's like a super power." the silver-haired boy commented, him chuckling lightly afterward.

"Well, have fun Sora. We'll see you later!" Hayner called out with a wave of his hand along with the other two.

"Yeah! Till the next time~!" Sora returned as she waved back and boarded the train as the doors closed soon after she had.

Once the doors slid shut, the train began moving and left the trio of teens to just keep waving to their new friend. Whom returned the favor until the locomotive was completely out of sight, to which Sora sat down with a wide smile on her features. Something of which made all of her friends gain a similar expression, all of them practically feeling her happiness as if it was their own. 'I look forward to seeing them again.' Sora thought to herself while looking out the window of the train and toward the setting sun.

* * *

 **There you have it, Hayner's gang have been added to the long list of friends Sora is accumulating. But will things remain happy for long? Stay tuned for the next installment. I hope all of you are enjoying this story, let me know your thoughts in a review. Until next time everyone.**


	4. Mysterious Tower part I

**I apologize for this chapter being a week late. I had a lot on my plate the past week, but I'm back into the groove of things...mostly. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoy this chapter. It's not overly exciting or such, but it is bringing back an old friend. ;) Well...not exactly old but...well, you'll see.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 4: Mysterious Tower part I

Fifteen minutes had passed on the train, and the group had yet to arrive at their destination. Despite the fact that the locomotive itself seemed to cross into a different area of space, they were still riding along on tracks made from pure magic. Though the occupants of the train were all scattered in the single car, they still spoke to one another quite easily. Sora was sitting beside Kairi, while Namine was in the seat in front of them. Riku simply laid down in the seat to the left of Sora's, which left the remaining three to all share the one opposite of his.

"So they called their group; 'The Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee'?" Sora asked with blinking eyes and a tilt of her head.

"Yep." Riku uttered with a nod in response, yet soon shrugged his shoulders.

"Though...it was either that, or; 'The Hollow Bastion Group of Helping Hands'." he continued, him giving a sweat drop and quick glance toward Kairi, as if to show that the name had been her idea.

"Hey...I thought it sounded nice." the auburn-haired teen stated with a huff and pout toward her older friend.

Sora chuckled lightly and patted her on the shoulder in comfort, to which she then looked toward Namine. "So all of our friends from Traverse Town are the current members?" she questioned as it was the blond giving most of the information that the teen was asking about.

"Yes, we too are included. Leon and Merlin were the ones to get everyone organized, but it was actually Cid whom started their missions in keeping the town safe." Namine explained with a nod of her head at the beginning.

"I guess that sort of figures." Sora muttered as a light laugh escaped her lips.

"Though I didn't get to talk to Cid that much, he definitely seemed like a 'down to business' type of guy." she continued silently, to which she then looked out the window.

Upon doing so, the teen saw what appeared to be a small, floating island. Of which was tear drop in shape and had many trees of various sizes that lined the edges. However, it was the tall tower at the far end that drew the most interest as it had a surrealistic, and rather crooked formation. The color of it was mostly golden-brown, with blue-green roofs that were each pointed like wizard's hats. These also having star and moon shaped on the surface, which were a lighter shade of blue-green so that they could be seen.

"Cool~." the brown-haired teen hummed out while standing up from her seat to get a better look.

"I had almost forgotten my favorite part about coming to a new world." she whispered to herself, the girl quickly recalling the fact that she didn't stop and really appreciate Twilight Town.

'Even if I already saw it through Xion's eyes, I was still seeing it with my own eyes for the first time. I guess I'll have a better look around the next time I go there.' Sora thought quickly while the train slowly came to a stop in front of the island.

But it was during this time that everyone spotted a large person standing at the foot of the stairs, leading up to the tower's entrance. Once the seven exited the locomotive, they stepped toward the unidentified individual in a slow and cautious manner. However, as the group came closer, a loud growling could be heard directly in front of the tall person.

This made Sora blink a few times and circle around the large individual, to which her eyes widened when she saw a familiar feline. "Zola!" she cheered out happily while rushing toward the leopard.

Whom was now even longer than Sora was tall, yet stood roughly around knee height to the brown-haired teen. The cat's fur had also become less fluffy and much more streamlined, yet her spots remained pretty much identical. Of which made it easy to tell it was indeed Zola as she still had the same formation of spots on her head.

Upon hearing her voice, Zola lifted her head to look at Sora, to which she immediately rushed toward the teen and tackled her. Sora herself grinned widely to this and hugged the large cat. Meanwhile, Zola let out a make-shift purr, as well as head-butted the teen over and over again to show her happiness. "Aw~! I missed you too~!" the brown-haired girl sang out happily as she scratched behind the cat's ears.

"You've grown so much~!" Sora continued in a singing-like voice as Zola even licked her face a few times.

All the while, the individual whom had been standing in front of Zola quickly breathed out a sigh of relief. However, they then turned toward the rest of the group and blinked many times to them. Him revealing himself to be a very large, anthropomorphic cat with two big front teeth very similar to Goofy's. "Gah! What are all you you nimrods doing here?" he demanded with a huff and an almost accusing finger pointed in their general direction.

"Pete?" Donald and Goofy uttered out in surprised while looking at this man.

"How did you get here?" Mickey questioned while jumping out into the front of the others in a defensive pose.

"Hmph...wouldn't you like to know." was all Pete responded with before quickly whistling and stepping to the side.

Immediately following this whistle, dozens of Heartless emerged from the ground and surrounded the group. This was then followed by Pete's laughter as he watched the creatures of darkness attack the six, none of whom actually making a move to fight. However, no sooner had they appeared, the Heartless all vanished with a single Thunder spell from Mickey's summoned weapon. Him not even using a hint of effort as if knowing that Pete's ability to control the Heartless was still quite small right now.

When seeing this display, Pete seemed to let out a frightened whimper and backpedal a few steps. "F-Fine! If you must know...I'm here to get that old man Yen Sid and turn him into a Heartless!" he claimed while huffing and looking up to the tower.

"I even heard that Merlin the Wizard was here too, so I decided to try and get them both! It would have been the perfect gift to Maleficent and her army!" Pete continued firmly, the others looking to him with slightly narrowed eyes.

This even catching Sora's attention as she looked over to Pete with a slightly raised brow. 'Is he someone you know?' she questioned inwardly, to which Maleficent moved in from the corner of her eye.

"Unfortunately so." the woman stated with a roll of her eyes, her gazing at Pete in obvious disappointment.

"The fool thought that he could just defeat Yen Sid and Merlin with a few measly Heartless at his command? Hmph...he insults my name just by being part of my army." she continued in near anger while giving Pete a rather hateful gaze.

Sora raised a brow in response to this, yet she continued to pet Zola regardless. 'Well first of all...that's a mean thing to say. Second...since when did you have an army?' she questioned with a slight tilt of her head to the right side.

"Hmph...since when did you think I didn't have an army?" the woman asked back as a small smirk curled her beautiful features.

"As for this buffoon...he's a moron whose only purpose thus far has been to collect weak and disposable Heartless to be 'sent to the front lines', as they say. My army requires numbers as well as quality fighters, so I brought him into my army for that exact purpose." Maleficent claimed, yet it was clear from her tone that it was only a very small portion of the full story.

But upon realizing this, the brown-haired teen narrowed her eyes slightly on the woman. 'You're hiding something. And the only reason why you would hide something from me at this point is because it has to do with some sort of future plan you have.' she claimed inwardly, to which the witch turned toward her with a raised brow.

"Oh~, I'm glad all those lessons I gave you have paid off. Your mind is much sharper than before, lets just hope that fool Merlin doesn't dull it with all his pointless studying of utterly useless information." Maleficent commented with a roll of her eyes.

This sudden change in subject instantly told Sora that the woman intended on keeping her plans a secret, no matter what. Despite the girl wanting to know what Maleficent was up to, she decided to just drop the conversation and look to Pete. "Well...I'm sure she appreciates the effort, but maybe you're biting off a bit more than you can chew?" she explained in a rather soft and understanding voice, her standing back to her feet midway through.

"Hmph! I don't need advice from you, pipsqueak!" Pete claimed with a huff before looking around to everyone.

"And you lot might have won this time, but I'll be back soon even better than ever!" he continued before throwing a small orb at the ground.

This producing a great amount of smoke, yet because of his size, Pete was still mostly visible while running away. But even during this, the smoke had already cleared by the time the large anthropomorphic dog reached halfway to the other side of the island. At which point, he tripped briefly before quickly getting back up and used some sort of portal to escape.

Once he was gone, the group just let out a breath in response, yet many of them turned to Namine as she was patting Sora on the shoulder. "It's okay, I don't think he meant it literally." the blond whispered as even Zola was pushing her head against Sora's leg to get her attention.

"B-But...he called me a pipsqueak." the brown-haired girl half whispered, half whined.

"Ugh...you realize you haven't been the shortest on the island since Kairi arrived?" Riku commented with a light sweat drop to his friend's behavior.

"Hey!" Kairi huffed out, her giving a pout toward the boy as he just cleared his throat quickly.

"N-Not that being short is a bad thing, she just didn't like being called 'short'...or anything similar to it." Riku explained while gesturing to Sora as if to make his point.

Whom was still being consoled by Namine as the blond kept patting the teen on her shoulder. "And apparently still doesn't." Donald added from the side with a heavy sigh.

"W-Well...we should head inside, Master Yen Sid is waiting for us." Mickey chimed in, him walking over to each of the teens as they slowly nodded in response.

After a brief sniffle to regather her composure, Sora cleared her throat and gave Namine a thankful smile. Though when the blond returned it with a nod, the brown-haired girl then looked to Mickey as he guided the group through the entrance of the tower. "So..." she started, to which she sent a quick glance around the small room that mostly was just there for the winding staircase leading up.

"...who exactly is this; 'Yen Sid'? And what is he like?" the girl finished in a highly curious tone as she had only heard of him by name.

"You'll see for yourself soon, but in general...he's the most powerful sorcerer there has ever been. He knows every single spell that has ever existed, as well as created a number of his own." Mickey said with a very proud sounding tone as they all walked up the many stairs.

"It's even been rumored that he is the only person to master a higher tier of magic than the greatest tier known to the worlds." he continued, his voice turning rather excited now as well.

Sora blinked many times in response to this as she recalled Xion experimenting with her magic many times. Of which had allowed her to determine that there had to be a higher levels of magic, than what she and Sora had achieved thus far. This getting the teen to thinking a great deal, as Xion's thoughts were now confirmed. But they were even more so when Maleficent let out a 'Tch' in annoyance, which instantly showed Sora that she withheld that information from her on purpose.

"So then..." the brown-haired teen began as she sent the witch within her mind an almost taunting grin.

"...how many tiers of magic are there?" she finished while tilting her head slightly inquisitively.

"Well, excluding the one only Yen Sid knows of...there are five tiers." Mickey began with a gesture to Sora immediately afterward.

"You've only reached the third tier, which is known to be the highest most mages can reach. The reason being is that...only those with extreme prowess for magic, as well as high magical reserves can even preform spells in the higher levels. After all...just one fourth tier spell has the same required power as a dozen third tier spells cast at the same time. But the power unleashed is far beyond even twenty third tier spells, so it's a tough level to reach for most." the mouse continued, causing Sora to blink many times as she quickly recalled just how powerful some of her third tier magic had been.

Yet this also explained Xemnas' power to her, to which she let out a breath and tapped her chin. "Do you think Master Yen Sid would teach me higher tier magic?" she asked just as they reached a set of doors at the top of the tower.

Mickey looked to her with blinking eyes before he soon gave a smile in response. "Without a doubt!" he claimed confidently before pushing the doors open.

* * *

 **There you have it, Zola is back~! Pete made his first appearance~! And Sora has finally learned about the magic tiers. ;D I hope all of you enjoyed and will let me know what you thought in a review. Anyway, until next time everyone.**


	5. Mysterious Tower part II

**If you have a hard time picturing Sora's new look, read the message at the bottom since I'll be giving a reference to each part. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 5: Mysterious Tower part II

As Mickey pushed the doors open, he stepped into the room beyond and moved to the side to allow the others to come in as well. When Sora came inside, she looked around the area with blinking eyes as it was a rounded room with golden-brown walls. Of which had a few book cases pushed against them and held a great many books upon their shelved.

While the teen continued to look around, she noticed large star and moon-shaped windows on the far wall to show the rather beautiful scenery outside. However, the thing that drew the most attention was the wooden table in the center of the room. There being a single person sitting behind it in a throne-like chair, while Merlin stood to the right side of it. Said wizard's gaze shifting from this person as they each entered one by one.

Although, the person in the chair was a rather severe-looking old man with long, grey hair and bushy eyebrows. He also had a long, grey beard that parted down the middle, yet he didn't have a mustache with it. His attire consisted of a sorcerer's hat on his head, as well as a long, billowing blue robes with sky blue lining. The former of the garments was also blue in color and decorated with several yellow stars and a single crescent moon. Meanwhile, the latter had dark red insides, but could only be seen through the large sleeves.

Though, one stand out feature the man had was the fact that that whites of his eyes were quite large in comparison to his small pupils. Something of which was further highlighted by the fact that he hadn't blinked a single time since the group came in. But while Sora looked at this man, she slowly shifted her gaze over to Merlin as he waved to her in greeting.

"Ah, I see you have met with your old friend." he stated with a small grin on his elder features, him glancing from Sora to Zola.

The brown-haired teen blinked a few times to him before giving a small smile and nod of her head. "Yep~!" she sang out happily while kneeling down briefly and petting the leopard on the head.

"It's good to see that you successfully awoke from your year's sleep. I assume you're feel well?" Merlin asked as a small smile curled his old features.

"Yep, never better~!" the brown-haired teen declared wight a thumbs up and grin.

"That's good to hear." the man in the chair spoke out in a deep and silent voice.

"I assume you're Master Yen Sid?" Sora asked him, her offering a quick wave of her hand in greeting.

"Indeed I am. And I assume that you've heard a great deal about me from King Mickey?" Yen Sid questioned as he briefly gestured to the mouse with a hand.

"To some degree, yeah. Though...apparently I'm here to learn how to place a spell over a world to prevent Heartless and Nobodies from entering it?" the teen uttered with a shrug as if she wasn't even sure where to begin with such a spell.

"Indeed." the sorcerer began, to which he brought a hand out and summoned a large book in a brief cloud of blue smoke.

"Though, it's more accurate to say that you'll be casting the spell upon the keyhole of the world, rather than the entirety of the world itself." he explained while the book floated in the air for a few moments before floating down at the edge of the table.

"This details the fundamentals of the spell, so make sure that you read it thoroughly before you leave." Yen Sid continued, to which he looked over to Mickey as the mouse spoke up.

"Sora also showed interest in learning more advanced magic, would it be okay for her to look through the ancient spell books? With your guidance of course." the mouse spoke as he smiled lightly to Yen Sid and gestured toward the brown-haired teen.

The elder sorcerer glanced from Mickey to Sora as he slowly gained a small smile of his own and nodded in response. "I would be more than willing to teach her, so long as she shows the initiative in learning." he stated while continuing to look at the girl.

Whom had nodded her head back to the man, to which she grinned widely and gave another a thumbs up. "I'm definitely willing and ready to learn more magic!" she declared in excitement.

"Very good, then I shall train you in Fourth Tier magic while also teaching you the spell to protect the worlds from further invasion." Yen Sid said silently with a gesture to the book upon the table, yet soon turned to Merlin as the wizard cleared his throat.

"In the meantime, why don't you go see the three fairies so you can get yourself some new clothes? I'm sure that you would like to have something other than that coat, or even your old clothes." Merlin commented, him pointing to the door on his left side.

"Oh yeah...you're still technically wearing those old clothes." Kairi muttered as she glanced over Sora's clothes.

"Well, I guess since the coat transforms the clothes you normally have on, once you take it off...they'll return back to the way they were before you put the coat on." Riku added as he too was also still wearing the Organization's coat.

Sora nodded her head slowly in response, to which she tapped her chin a few times. "Hmm...makes me wonder if my shirt will still have burns on it." she uttered out while recalling all the fights she had been in during her time at Castle Oblivion.

"Probably, but don't worry...they'll give you completely brand new clothes. Just as they did for Kairi." Merlin said with a small smile and gesture toward the other girl.

This leading for Sora to blink and turn toward Kairi as she just smiled and nodded her head. The brown-haired teen smirked, nodded back and and headed into the room to her right side. "I hope I'll have something cool." she muttered just before going through the doors and closed them behind her.

Upon going through, the others had looked to each other and then finally to Yen Sid. "Master..." Mickey began while taking a step forward.

"...I think I should go and help the worlds so we can in order to cover more ground. There are too many worlds for Sora to handle alone. It could take weeks or months if we're only moving as one unit." the mouse continued in an urgent manner.

"Agreed, but your main mission will remain the same." Yen Sid said, him giving a brief nod of his head at the start.

"Understood." Mickey answered back, to which he glanced to Riku.

"I know you said you wanted to join me, but now that Sora is awake...I think it's best that yo-" yet the anthropomorphic rodent was cut off as the silver-haired teen spoke out.

"No chance. Sora will be just fine, especially with the new power she's gained. So I'll come and help you out so we can work faster and more efficiently." Riku claimed, him not showing any willingness to budge from his decision.

"Besides...I can't stay behind her forever. So splitting up will also give me an opportunity to get better and more powerful." the boy finished, a small and very determined smirk curling his lips.

Mickey blinked to this a few times before sighing with a nod; "Alright...I'll be grateful for your help." he said silently while gaining a small smile of his own.

"But, we'll still go through with our reunion plan at Disney Castle, right?" Kairi asked with a raised brow and glance between the pair.

Both of whom nodded their heads in response, to which the auburn-haired girl smirked. Yet they each turned toward Namine as she spoke out in a silent and rather thoughtful voice. "Speaking of getting together again, are you sure that DiZ will be finished by the time we're ready to take on the Organization?" she questioned, her glancing toward the others.

"Even if he asked us to leave him alone while he works, perhaps it would be best for one of us to stay behind and help. That way we'll know for sure things will be ready at the right time." the blond continued, to which Kairi blinked a few times and walked over to her.

"Are you sure? You said that you really wanted to travel with Sora when she woke up." the auburn-haired girl said softly as she placed a hand to her shoulder.

Namine let out a breath and looked down; "I know...but above all else, I want to make sure that we'll win when the time comes." she said silently, it being obvious that she didn't want a repeat of what happened to Xion.

This lead for everyone to slowly nod their heads in response, to which Kairi smiled to the girl and spoke up in an encouraging tone. "Alright, but don't worry...we'll make sure to stop by every once in a while to see how things are coming along."

"Then, once it's finished...you can come with us!" the girl continued as her voice turned a bit more excited.

"Gawrsh, I wonder if we'll have enough room in the Gummi Ship." Goofy muttered out while scratching the side of his head with a gloved finger.

"If we don't...I am not sitting in anyone's lap!" Donald claimed, him crossing his feathered arms across his chest.

"In someone's lap." Kairi and Namine echoed silently to themselves, as if having a brief daydream of sitting in a certain person's lap.

But this quickly came to an end as the doors to the side opened once more and the brown-haired teen came walking out. Her looking around to everyone with blinking eyes and a tilt of her head to the side. "What about people's laps?" she asked in a confused tone while continuing to blink a few more times.

The girl's clothing having been changed rather drastically as she was now wearing a black hoodie that only reached down to her midriff. It also had thin, silver, pauldron-like additions to her shoulders, which had white lining along the edges. Underneath this was a form-fitting, navy blue shirt with a large, vertical, red stripe in the center. Next were her black hot pants, these having a black colored belt and crisscrossing yellow straps around them. This garment also sported a long, ankle-length half dress that covered her back side, yet left her front open.

Of which allowed everyone to mostly see the red pockets strapped to the sides of her thighs with black buckles. The teen's fingerless-gloves were black on the outside, white on the inside, and had a yellow line running around them. She also wore narrow, shin-high boots, which were mostly black and yellow in color. These having silver soles, as well as a similarly colored zipper running across the top.

But, despite all this change to her wardrobe, there was one thing that remained; Sora's crown pendant necklace. Something of which everyone took notice of as the brown-haired teen always wore it since the day she got it. Though, oddly enough, no one could remember when that was. However, this was ignored as Sora walked toward them while her head was still tilting ever so slightly to the side. Her long hair flowing gracefully behind the girl with each step she took.

"Um...guys?" Sora uttered out with blinking eyes while glancing to each of her friends.

Many of whom were blinking to her new appearance, which seemed almost too fitting for the teen. Though, it also made Kairi groan and huff as the outfit made it all the more clear of how much larger the brown-haired girl's chest was compared to her own. "It's not fair." she whispered to herself, to which she turned to the side and pouted in defeat.

"Huh?" Sora hummed out as she blinked her own eyes, yet she quickly looked to Riku as he waved a hand.

"Nothing, so I assume you're happy with your new clothes?" the silver-haired boy asked, leading for Sora to just smirk and nod her head.

"Absolutely! These are awesome! And they apparently have some extra powers I can utilize~!" she claimed enthusiastically, as well as confidently.

This bringing a small smile to each of the surrounding peoples' faces as they looked to her. Though, Mickey soon walked over to her and brought his hands out while speaking up. "Well, I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to find out what they are along your journey. But for now..." he started with a gesture toward the book on the table.

This made Sora briefly pout in response, her obviously wanting to head out as soon as possible. Yet she then gave a nod to him, despite the fact that she had to hold back a sigh. Mickey simply smiled to her and continued on with his words; "But since we still have many things to do, we'll be splitting up for now."

"Riku will be coming with me to help find out what the Organization is really up to, as well as to get a head start in protecting the worlds. Namine will be returning to Twilight Town to assist DiZ with his experimental device to foil the Organization's plans for their mock-Kingdom Hearts. Merlin is going to be in Hollow Bastion to further develop the security system the Restoration Committee is making. Which we'll be trying to export it into other worlds as to try and keep them safe from all possible threats." the mouse explained, pointing to each person as he went.

Though after this, Sora glanced over to the only remaining three. "Of course, I've asked Donald and Goofy to stay here with you and Kairi. So they'll be with you the whole way again." the mouse finished with a wide smile on his features as he knew it's what the teen was hoping for.

Sora gave a grin to this while looking to the trio; "Looks like the old gang is back." she said, to which the others took on a similar expression as her.

* * *

 **There you have it, things are about to get started. It kinda seems like a slow start all things considered, but I hope you liked it nonetheless. Let me know what you thought in a review. Until next time everyone.**

* * *

 **As for Sora's new look, I took almost the whole inspiration from a picture of a female Sora on 'Pintrest'. Though it has her with two long pieces of clothing rather than a full half dress, I decided to go with a similar appearance to a character named; 'Yami' from an anime called; 'To Love Ru'. It was originally going to be the same as the picture I found, but I decided to go with the full half dress after I saw a picture of Yami on the same sight. I thought Sora would look really cool with that sort of outfit. So yeah, you can use that picture as a base for what my Sora looks like. Save for the scars on her face and the other changes I made to the wardrobe.**


	6. Mysterious Tower part III

**Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 6: Mysterious Tower part III

Night fell upon the tower as the occupants were all asleep, save for two. The first was Master Yen Sid as he was looking through a scroll, which listed the activities Sora had been undergoing for the past two days. The second was the brown-haired teen herself as she was in the same room as the one she received her new outfit in. Of which she shared with the four friends that remained with her through the time she spent being trained by Yen Sid.

Within this room, there were multiple sleeping bags for each of the four humans, while a large pillow was set out for the slightly smaller cat. Though, one of the sleeping bags had a tall mound within it, as if someone was sitting up inside of it. There was also a faint glow within the covers, but it was just soft enough to not awaken any of the others as they slept rather soundly.

"Hmm..." Sora hummed silently while looking at the pages of an old book in front of her.

There being a small orb of light hovering over the book to allow the teen to read what was written down. The girl kept this book in her lap, all while hold her head up with both hands as they rested against her cheeks. While she rested her elbows upon either of her knees, the girl turned to the next page by leaning to the side and blowing a light breeze of air from her lips.

'I know Master Yen Sid wants me to read the so-called 'intermediate' books, but if I'm going to learn these spells in time...I can't waste my time with the basics. I have to learn how to cast Fourth Tier spells as soon as possible.' she thought to herself, her continuing to read the next series of paragraphs.

'It might be really reckless of me to do, but I'm also very confident in my ability.' the teen mused, yet soon paused and reread a specific sentence in the book.

"The power of fire is awoken through the sea of flames that cast it." Sora whispered aloud before tilting her head down in thought for a few moments.

"So...I have to picture a lake of fire in my mind in order to use the Fourth Tier fire spell." she continued, the girl making sure to speak as silently as possible as to not wake anyone up.

'In order to cast a spell, you have to visualize something specific for it to actually work. So I guess it make sense that the image for more powerful magic becomes wider spread. But now it's entering more into the realm of fantasy.' Sora contemplated silently as she still continued to read the words on the pages.

'Though, it does explain why so few can achieve the higher tiers, only those with a vast imagination, as well as magic reserve can even cast such spells. With Fire, its was just a simple flame...with Fira it was a torch being lit with fire...and then Firaga, I had to picture something akin to a bonfire.' she continued within her mind, to which she let out a breath as quietly as possible.

'Though...now I'm curious what kind of things I'll have to imagine for the Fifth Tier of magic and beyond. But I suppose I'll think about that when I come to it.' the teen pondered while tapping her chin and glanced over a certain phrase at the bottom of the page.

'Gather the light of the heart, and summon the power within.'

"The light...huh?" Sora uttered almost voicelessly as she slowly closed her eyes.

'I haven't gotten around to asking Yen Sid about using the power of light yet, but I guess this will give me the perfect opportunity. I just wonder if my magic will be inherently weaker since I haven't developed any sort of 'light power'.' she continued within her mind, to which she then slowly closed the book and laid back down to sleep.

A few hours later, just as the sun was rising, Sora stepped up to the edge of the island. The teen being the only one awake as she paused right where the train dropped her off a few days ago. However, she wasn't reminiscing about coming to the tower, the girl's mind was filled with thoughts of what she had learned thus far. "This is tougher than I thought." Sora whispered silently as her eyes had been closed the whole time.

'The stuff Yen Sid has been teaching me is way too small to really work for these Fourth Tier spells. It's like he's not even taking me seriously.' the teen mused, a light pout forming on her features for a brief moment.

'Though...I suppose it's my own fault. Trying to picture an actual sea of flames is next to impossible since I've lived next to the water my whole life.' she continued inwardly, the mental image she kept trying to picture changed into a normal sea of water each and every time.

'The moment I even think of a 'sea', I start imagining the waves crashing on the shore and even the smell of the water.' the teen mused while both her eyes slowly fluttered open.

"How did you create the image in your mind?" she questioned aloud, yet she didn't turn her gaze away from the seemingly never ending dimension in front of her.

"Simple..." Maleficent began as she stood behind and to the side of the teen from within her mind.

"...you imagine a normal sea being lit on fire from the shore." the woman continued as a small, but also rather unnerving smirk curled her lips.

"Picture the flames spreading further and further until everything is engulfed. You must feel the heat, feel the burning of all that the flames touch. Then you open your magic reserve and allow it to pour forth." she explained in an almost manipulating voice.

All the while, Sora closed her eyes in order to imagine all of this within her mind. Midway through however, the teen raised a hand out in front of her as a deep red glow could be seen radiating from it. After slowly reopening her eyes, the brown-haired girl placed her free hand upon the forearm of her other one.

"Lets hope this works." was her last whisper before she then closed both eyes and began focusing a great deal.

Though, as the minutes passed, nothing noticeably changed from the teen. Despite the fact that she appeared to become more and more exhausted, there was absolutely no other sign that anything was happening. This making Sora grind her teeth through each heavy breath, of which were slowly turning into frustrated growls.

"Remember what I taught you...remain calm and think rationally to use your magic." Maleficent ordered as she took a step closer to the teen.

"Only then can you allow your emotions increase the power of your spell." the witch continued, her tone remaining firm while watching the teen.

Whom took in and let out a few breaths in order to help herself calm down once more. Upon doing so, she slowly seemed to regain her composure and returned back to breathing more stably. But even after this, there was still no change as the minutes slowly ticked away until two hours had passed. This signaling everyone else to finally awaken as it was only one hour away from being the time Yen Sid held Sora's lessons.

However, the others still participated as well since Kairi and Donald were also interested in learning from the elder man. Though there was little he could teach Goofy, it provided him practice in fighting against foes whom specialized in magic. Something of which he was proficient in, but still somewhat weak to, especially toward specific spells.

"Looks like you failed to cast a single spell yet again." Maleficent huffed out in obvious disappointment.

"Don't you think you should read all of the books before you try to use the spells you're reading about? Trying to do something with only a few pieces might have worked with lower tier magic, but you're entering an entirely different realm of power. Your little short cuts aren't going to work anymore." the woman continued, her tone being firm once more.

Despite this, the witch sounded as if she was expecting something to happen at the last second. Her seeming to be saying these things in order to rise the girl's sense of determination to prove her wrong. Of which came true as a small black aura surrounding Sora's body, leading for her to then snap both eyes open. The teen's normally blue eyes were now yellow in color, to which the red glow around her hand intensified tenfold.

Immediately following this, a gigantic inferno of fire blasted from Sora's hand. It starting off as a normal color, but the flames slowly turned green as the blaze seemed to spread for over a hundred yards. The spell being so large that the fire was the only thing the girl could even see, even in the corners of her eyes. These flames spreading far out to the sides as it made Sora glad she chose the spot she did since the trees were very close to catching on fire.

All the while, each of the occupants of the tower rushed to a window as they could hear the inferno blazing just outside. Upon seeing that it was the brown-haired teen who was creating it, a few of them blinked in shock, while one narrowed their eyes heavily. "I knew she had been missing for a while...but I never expected Maleficent to be within her. But for Sora to reach the Fourth Tier so quickly...it either has to be sheer talent...or she's receiving help." Yen Sid whispered to himself while slowly stroking his beard thoughtfully.

After he said this, Sora noticeably starting to slide backward from the very force of her own spell. Which was already making her hair fly back as if there was a huge fan blowing right in the teen's face. "Th-This is a bit more intense than I was expecting." she uttered out silently, but kept the spell going as if not wanting to end it just yet.

The girl had a wide grin on her features as she was feeling the same excitement as when she first used magic. It was a whole new level, a whole new experience. How could she resist seeing just what she could do with all the power she trained to get?

Though, the choice was soon taken from her as in the last few moments of the spell, Sora's aura slowly gained a faint blue tint. Her hair having similarly colored sparks flickering around it as even the teen's eyes suddenly turned the same hue. But the final change came in the form of the flames erupting from Sora's palm as they also turned blue and blazed even more intensely than the previous colors. However, this only lasted for a few brief seconds before the force was too much for the teen and she was blown backward.

Despite Sora staying on her feet, she backpedaled a few steps before finally regaining her balance. Yet she was too distracted by the fact that she successfully preformed a Fourth Tier spell to notice that Kairi, Zola, Donald and Goofy were all rushing toward her. But in the few moments before the four arrived, Maleficent narrowed her eyes on the teen. "Those were Hades' flames. But the power he gave you was only supposed to be temporary, so how did you use his power?" she questioned with a somewhat suspicious tone.

"Huh?" Sora uttered out while blinking to the witch within her mind; "Well I never really used the power he gave me, so I was bound to have a little bit stored away somewhere. But really? It was temporary?"

"Sora!" Kairi called out as she reached her fellow teen, whom blinked and smiled sheepishly.

'I'm gonna have to have a long talk with him.' both the brown-haired girl and Maleficent thought in unison just before Kairi pulled on her friend's ear.

"I told you not to be so rash!" the shorter teen stated firmly as she released her friend's ear afterward.

"B-But I did it, didn't I?" Sora responding while pouting as even Zola was giving a low growl in protest to her actions.

"That's not the point! You're not supposed to do anything reckless..." Kairi continued, her tone remaining firm as she developed her own pout.

"...without me." she finished, causing Donald to sigh heavily in response and rub his eyes.

Meanwhile, Goofy chuckled and just smiled the whole time as he seemed to figure that's what she meant the whole time. Zola also gave a nod in agreement as if to show the fact that Merlin had managed to teach her how to understand human language. She also let out a growling meow as if to further Kairi's last words, to which said teen smiled toward the cat.

As Sora gave her apologies, Yen Sid watched from the window in his tower, to which he narrowed his eyes a bit further on the teen. "It seems she's a bit too close to the darkness." he muttered silently as his gaze slowly shifted toward the dissipating flames of Sora's spell.

"I must make sure to teach her the power of light in order to make sure that she has balance. Otherwise..." he started, yet never finished as his eyes slowly narrowed once more.

* * *

 **Well there ya go, with enough determination, will power, and the spirit of an evil witch living inside of your mind...you too can achieve greater heights. ;D Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter, let me know what you thought of it. Until next time everyone.**


	7. Mysterious Tower part IV

**Alright everyone, after this chapter, the story is really gonna start picking up. So I hope you enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think. I'm still taking requests for worlds, but they'll be reserved for DDD and KH III. Lets just hope the latter comes out before this story reaches that point. Anyway, on to the chapter.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 7: Mysterious Tower part IV

"Eh? Intermediate tiers?" Sora uttered out with blinking eyes while standing together with her friends in front of Yen Sid in his chair.

"Yes. I assumed you would have been informed of them from Merlin, but I suppose in consideration of your natural talent, it makes sense that you wouldn't have needed to learn about such things." the elder man spoke silently as he stroked his beard softly for a moment.

"They are tiers that lay between each numbered tier, and vary from 'low' to 'high'. But due to the large difference between the third and fourth tier, you could in fact consider each intermediate stage between them to be a tier of their own. However, since each level is defined by a series of specific categories, the intermediate tiers leading from the third to the fourth remain as they are." Yen Sid explained, to which Sora blinked a few more times and slowly nodded her head in response.

"Although...due to the fact that you still managed to cast a fourth tier spell, I believe it is possible to help train you in the higher level magic arts. While also teaching you the spell you came here to learn." the man claimed, him looking from the brown-haired teen before over to Kairi and Donald.

"I will also train you two in as many areas as possible so that you're ready for the fight ahead." he continued, yet soon turned his gaze over to Goofy and Zola as the latter was growling lightly.

The large cat showing her obvious desire of not wanting to be left out, which made Yen Sid look down in thought for a brief moment. "I will make sure to train you in the art of magic resistance." he spoke up silently, him giving a quick glance toward Goofy before downward once more.

"Well..." Yen Sid started once more, to which he turned his gaze to the leopard.

"...since Merlin had previously informed me that he's been training you to use magic, I will assist you in continuing to build up your magical reserves. Though you won't be able to use tier magic for quite some time, the larger your magic reserves are, the stronger your attacks will be." the old man finished, leading for Zola to let out a quick roar to show her approval.

Sora grinned to this as she bent down and scratched the cat's head; "Now we'll get to fight together~!" she sang out as Zola let out what sounded like a purr.

"But first..." Yen Sid began again, to which he cleared his throat lightly; "...I wish to test your current abilities and talents."

"If I am to properly train each of you, I need to know the extent of what your power, knowledge and capabilities are." he continued with a glance around to each of the five.

"Alright...so how are you like to test us?" was Sora's question before, a few minutes later, she immediately regretted asking it.

The brown-haired teen was now standing in the middle of a large field, which was part of a pocket dimension Yen Sid created s that they could train more easily. However, Sora was noticeably nervous as she looked around to each of her friends as they had her completely surrounded. But what made her so on edge, was the fact that both her arms were tied behind her back. "I don't mean to question your wisdom, Master Yen Sid..." she started while looking over to said man with a sheepish smile.

"...but I'm questioning it anyway!" she called out in a comically panicked manner; "This is definitely a bad idea!"

"Your natural talent for magic should allow you to cast spells without the help of your hands, nor a catalyst such as a wand or Keyblade." Yen Sid responded as he merely stood to the side with his arms crossed.

"This exercise will also help you to use your magic in a more controlled manner, which is absolutely necessary for the spell you must learn." he finished in a very wise tone, yet it do much to calm Sora.

Whom gulped down nervously as she then smiled sheepishly once more and questioned; "Um...this isn't revenge for sneaking those forbidden books into my sleeping bag at night...or secretly training to achieve higher tier magic on my own?"

"O-Or for trying to take your hat off in order to see whether or not you might be bald?" the teen asked while gulping down even harder and started to even sweat in her nervousness.

Yen Sid simply closed his eyes to this, him slowly taking on a small smile while recalling all these times. The brown-haired teen sneaking into a room he would be in, only to jump at him from anywhere possible to grab the hat from his head. Which would always result in her either being stopped by a magical shield, or by him moving out of the way.

The latter normally resulting for the girl to run into whatever was directly in front of her. One time in particular, there was only one of the large windows in his study. Of which lead for Sora to fall to the ground below, all while claiming that she would find out one day. Yet after recalling these events, he just gave the teen a brief gaze before looking around to the others.

"Begin." was all the man said, to which the four around Sora quickly began inching toward her.

"O-Okay guys..." the brown-haired teen started with a nervous chuckle; "...r-remember, this is just training. M-My arms might be tied, but there is no need to make this personal, alright?"

"Personal? You mean like getting revenge for when you ripped the arm off my favorite doll because you wanted to make your dinosaur toy be more 'realistic'?" the auburn-haired teen spoke, a frighteningly generic smile being seen on her features.

This made Sora gulp down while recalling said day from six years ago, though her friend's expression made it clear that she was going to get her revenge. Though, as she slowly started backing away from the other teen, Sora nearly yelped in fright when another voice was heard almost directly behind her.

"Or how you kept ditching us to go off on your own." Donald added with a huff, making Sora quickly turn to face him with a nervous chuckle.

"W-Well...um..." was all she got out before hearing a low growl to her side from Zola.

"Oh come on...it's not my fault you weren't allowed to eat Archimedes!" Sora claimed in a near whine as that one actually wasn't her fault.

However, this did nothing to stop Zola from rushing toward her with lightning magic to increase her speed. This led for the brown-haired teen to jump out of the way, yet it was right into Donald's attack as he zapped her with a weak Thunder spell. Meanwhile, Kairi rushed up behind Sora and whacked her over the head with her mage staff. All this made the tied up girl fall to the ground in a daze as she didn't have any of her defenses up against her friends.

"Gawrsh, I think we should restart." he muttered while scratching the side of his head, him having mostly stayed back the whole time.

"Indeed." Yen Sid whispered with a small smirk as if satisfied about something, to which he just snapped his fingers.

His action bringing Sora back to normal consciousness and even cured the small injuries she received. "Now that we have all of that out of the way, now we can begin with the real training." he stated, to which the others nodded and helped the brown-haired girl to her feet.

Upon returning to their original spots, they began their training. But between Sora's lack of ability to cast spells without her hands or Keyblade, and the number of times Kairi 'accidentally' hit her friend over the head, they didn't get much done for a half hour. However, once Sora finally got this method of casting, their training finally started to take off. This leading for the group to spend the rest of the day, until the sun went down, running a series of exercises Yen Sid created.

Though, the few hours after this, the old sorcerer then brought Sora into his study in order to further teach her about the spell she needed. Something the teen was having a hard time learning, but it wasn't for lack of power or skill. It became very clear during one of Sora's practice spells, there was one thing she needed in order to use the spell properly, the power of light.

By the end of the day, each of the five were utterly exhausted as they laid atop of their sleeping bags. "How..much longer..did he say..it would take..before..I'd have..that spell..mastered?" Sora questioned with a heavy breath between each pause.

"Four..more..days." Kairi answered, to which the whole room echoed with groans in response.

Even Zola let out a near whine from this as she was sprawled out on her cushion next to Sora's sleeping bag. "W-Well..." the auburn-haired girl started silently; "...at least..we're all together...right?" she asked, making Donald and Sora groan.

This made her sigh silently with a brief shrug; "Alright..fair enough. There is a time..and a place..for a 'friendship speech'." the teen added silently, to which the pair nodded in agreement.

"Gawrsh, if this was just the beginning...I wonder what tomorrow is going to be like." Goofy muttered, causing the others to groan once more as they didn't even want to think about such things.

But while each day following was more exhausting than the last, the group actually started to get used to the training. Therefore, by the time the remaining four days were up, each of the five felt like they were truly ready to take on whatever challenges lay ahead. Which, for Sora, was one last ditch effort to grab Yen Sid's hat. And while it was her closest opportunity yet, she still failed almost instantly as the elder man had actually been forced to raise a hand to cast his barrier spell. Something he only did when he was either serious, or had been taken off guard.

"You have all been excellent students and I'm proud of each of you for coming so far in the short amount of time I've spent training you." the man began as each of the five stood in front of him, after Sora had picked herself up off the floor.

"And while I have given each of you a few books to read, so that you may grow stronger on your own, I do hope you'll return for further lessons. However, now that Sora has fully mastered the spell...it's time for you to begin your mission to save the worlds. We can only hope that the King and Riku were able to keep the order while you have been undergoing your training." he continued, to which the group nodded their heads in agreement.

"Your ship is prepared, so all I can do now is to wish you luck." Yen Sid claimed with a nod toward each of the five to offer his farewell.

But after the group returned this gesture and started heading out, the elder man made one last statement. "Remember Sora...believe in your light."

The brown-haired teen blinked to him briefly, to which she then raised a hand slightly and made a thumbs up motion. "You got it!" she called out while they all rushed down to the entrance of the tower.

Yen Sid let out a silent breath while watching them through the window, Sora and Donald arguing briefly about whom would sit where in the ship. The old man slowly gained a small smile as it didn't take long for Kairi to get them to get organized and head off on their way.

'I managed to teach her the basic powers of light and how to utilize them, but it's almost like there is some sort of limiter on them. Could it be due to Maleficent's presence within her mind? Or perhaps it's something Sora herself has created?' he mused silently to himself as the Gummi ship was soon out of sight.

'If she is able to move past that block...her light could be equal or even greater than her darkness. Though...it truly all depends on the source of her brightest light. Which could in fact explain the block. After all, her crushing fear of rejection makes it almost impossible to utilize her full potential.' Yen Sid continued, to which he walked to his desk and gazed down at all the notes he took of the group's progress.

Though he looked down at one in particular, which had the label of; 'Sora's Training of Light'. But since there were other notes over it, there were only a few lines that could be seen at the top. The first one saying; 'Main source of power: Kairi', while the second was; 'Main source of conflict: '. Despite the name beside these words being invisible due to the other notes covering it, the first letter seemed to have a vertical line at the start of its formation.

"I can only hope that she overcomes that fear someday." he whispered silently while closing his eyes.


	8. Hollow Bastion part I

**Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 8: Hollow Bastion part I

The Gummi ship began it's slow descent just inside the main town of Hollow Bastion, to which the dome top opened once it touched down. This allowed for Sora and her friends to exit the ship one after another, as well as for the brown-haired teen to look around the area with blinking eyes. It being the first time since Ansem's defeat that she had been to this world, plus the only other place she had visited outside Maleficent's former castle.

"Wow...I didn't know all of this was here." the girl whispered to herself while looking around the town, which was fairly large as there were many houses and small shops everywhere.

"Well, we didn't exactly have much time to sight-see the last time you were in this world." Donald commented with a shrug of his shoulders, many people walking around the area like any other normal day.

"True...but now I kinda wish we did." Sora said silently, her chuckling softly before slowly turning to the side.

Her noticing someone standing near one of the shops, whom appeared rather familiar from somewhere. "Hmm?" she hummed out while tilting her head in question.

"I recognize that guy." the teen claimed while pointing to what appeared to be an anthropomorphic duck.

Whom was slim and elderly in appearance, as well as had white feathers. They also had an orange bill, which sported a small pair of spectacles that were perfectly balanced near the edge of their bill. Next were his webbed feet that were also orange in color and had red spats around them. Lastly, the duck wore a black top hat, and a blue shirt that had red trim and a single golden button at the top.

After each of the others turned to this person, Donald blinked a few times before calling out his fellow duck's name. "Uncle Scrooge?"

"Yeah...that's it." Sora said quickly as she snapped her fingers and took on a small smirk.

This lead for the group to then head toward Scrooge himself as he seemed to be speaking to the clerk for one of the shops. However, when he noticed the shadows coming closer to him, he turned around to face the five. "Bless me kilts!" he called out in surprised while looking to Sora, his accent being just as thick as she remembered it.

"It's the young lass who saved me business and fortune." he exclaimed with a smirk toward the brown-haired girl.

Though Sora smiled lightly to him, she had to hold back the feeling of regret for leaving so quickly, rather than making sure that him and his family were okay. Her having been in such a hurry that she didn't stop to even think about what she had done for the world Webby had taken her to. However, the teen still kept a smile and greeted Scrooge with a handshake as he lifted his feathered hand out for one.

"It was no trouble at all...but I must apologize for being so short with you before." she said while scratching the back of her neck sheepishly with her opposite hand.

"I was in a bit of a hurry." Sora explained, yet simply received a chuckle as Scrooge waved his free hand in response as they then released their handshake.

"It was no trouble lass. I understand all too well of how it is to be in a hurry." the elder duck claimed as he gave the teen a small smile, making the girl feel a bit better.

"But I would still like to pay ya back for helpin' me out that day." he continued before looking up and tapping his bill in thought.

"Hmm...now what sort of reward could I give to ya?" Scrooge hummed to himself, to which he glanced around to the others for a moment.

"Ah! I got it!" he suddenly declared after only a few brief seconds, him then taking off his hat and reaching inside of it.

"Prepare to see the most amazing thing you've ever laid eyes on!" the elder duck claimed with glance around to everyone gathered.

Each of whom blinked and inched a bit closer to see exactly what it was that he would pull out of his hat. But once he had, they all gazed upon a shiny, yet somehow rather old looking dime between his feathered fingers. "It's me lucky dime!" he announced, causing almost everyone to nearly fall over from the lack of excitement.

However, Sora just blinked to it with a wide smile and a very amazed gaze; "Cool~!" she hummed out in a very impressed tone.

This made the others blink many times to her as even Zola didn't seem impressed by this rather simple looking coin. Though, Scrooge appeared ecstatic to her reaction as he then went on to tell Sora the story of how he made it.

"I was a young ducklin' back in those days. Me father had just taken me to see our family's old castle when we were once owners of a vast estate. So it inspired me to start workin'. And after gettin' me first job as a show shiner, I was rewarded for my hard work with this very dime. The very first piece of money I ever made." he told in a heavily reminiscent manner, as if reliving the day in his memories.

"Of course, it was the wrong type of currency for where I lived and I felt a bit cheated. So I learned two lessons that day: 'life is filled with tough jobs' and 'there'll always be sharpies to cheat me'. Therefore, I vowed that I would be tougher than the toughies and sharper than the sharpies, and I'll make my money square!" Scrooge continued with a wide grin as Sora nodded her head in an even more impressed manner.

Meanwhile, the others seemed to actually become a bit inspired by this as they were now more interested in the dime. "And now, I've become the richest duck there has ever been and it all started with this dime." he finished, to which he gave one last showing of the coin before putting it back into his hat.

"That's awesome~!" Sora sang out with a small grin; "Thank you for that reward."

"It was no problem lass." Scrooge answered as he waved a hand; "But I'm sure you're all in a hurry, so I won't be keepin' ya. Though...if ya ever have any time, come on by me ice cream shop...I'll share some stories wit' ye."

After these words, he made a quick gesture to a specific shop just opposite of the one they were in front of. The brown-haired teen looked to this briefly before she turned back to the elder duck with a smile an nod in response. "We most definitely will." she claimed as Kairi nodded as well, her also seeming rather intrigued in hearing more stories.

But after this quick farewell, the group continued on their way and headed further into town. Upon doing so, they quickly came up to a small house that had been built against a corner to the tall walls around this part of town. Which they could all tell was Merlin's new home as there was an owl-like symbol over the door and even a magician's hat-shaped design on the roof.

"So...'this' is his new place? Seems a bit run-down." Sora muttered silently to herself while looking over the exterior, which had windows that were boarded up.

"For now it is! But we've been fixing it up for a while, so you could say it's still a 'work-in-progress'!" a cheerful voice suddenly called out from above.

Sora blinked a few times to how familiar they sounded before turning around and seeing Yuffie sitting on the edge of a nearby wall. "Hey Yuffie, Merlin send you out here to wait for us?" she questioned while watching the older girl stand up and flip herself through the air.

The raven-haired girl then landed almost right next to the door the group was standing in front of. "Naturally." she answered with a small smirk, yet she soon blinked a few times and looked Sora over.

"Hmm...I don't remember you having those scars on your face though. Are you trying to mimic Squall? Cause I'm sure there are other ways." she questioned, her shrugging both shoulders after these words.

Sora chuckled to this as she raised a hand up to the scars running across her face; "Well...they're definitely not as noticeable as his, so if that's what I was going for...I failed anyway." she said with another chuckle at the end.

Her scars being so light that it would be possible to completely miss them at first glance. Yet thanks to Yuffie's trained eyes, she saw them almost instantly. "But I guess I'm kinda glad they're no as noticeable. I mean, while it would be really cool looking to have them look similar to his, I wouldn't want to have vanity problems later on in life where I start thinking they make me look ugly." the brown-haired teen explained as she smiled sheepishly.

Yuffie simply laughed to this as she shrugged and nodded her head in response. "To each their own." was all she says before opening the door for all of them to enter.

This revealing the inside as it seemed to be somewhat similar to how Merlin's house in Traverse Town had been. This time however, there was a large computer just a few meters just away from the entrance. Where of which Cid was sitting, to which he slowly turned around in his chair to look at the new guests. "Well as I live and breath, looks like you actually got it right for once." he muttered while glancing over toward Merlin.

Whom was sitting in his chair at a round table, him having tea with Aerith while Leon was standing to the side. "How rude! I'll have you know that I always know that people are coming." the bearded man claimed as he stood up from his chair and came over toward the group, Aerith quickly doing the same.

"Yeah yeah, you just happen to get the wrong time for some things." Cid muttered with a roll of his eyes, to which he just turned back to the computer and continued typing on the large keys.

Merlin huffed to this for a moment before quickly clearing his throat, he then looked over Sora and the other four. "It seems that you've all grown quite a lot over the last week, I'm quite impressed." he spoke up with a smile on his old features.

Meanwhile, Archimedes quickly flew from the rafters of the house into his birdhouse high on one of the walls. Yet this sparked for Zola to quickly give chase, yet she then just sat down in front of this wall and stared up at the birdhouse. Sora glanced to this with a giggle as she could assume that such a sight was very common for the year the leopard spent living with Merlin.

"Now then...since you're here, it's safe to assume that Yen Sid has determined that you can use the proper spell with enough mastery that you can fulfill your mission?" the wizard more of stated than asked, to which he then summoned five small, yellow orbs into his hand.

"He has also informed me about your trouble with using the power of light, so I have taken it upon myself to create these. They're concentrated spheres of light that will aid you in the use of your Light powers. Just make sure to only use them when you need to, we wouldn't want your powers to have any sort of imbalance by adding something when there isn't supposed to be." Merlin explained while handing the teen the orbs, all of which seemed to hover over each of their hands.

Sora blinked a few times to this before slowly taking on a small grin; "They feel so warm." she whispered silently before the spheres seemed to be absorbed inside of her.

"Now then...a quick run down of what you'll be doing for each world you visit." the old man started, yet stopped quickly as a raven's call was heard just outside the still open door.

This lead from almost everyone inside the house to turn to the black bird standing on the ground. It gazing directly at Sora as if expecting something of her, to which the teen simply let out a silent breath and nodded. "Alright then." she whispered while heading to the doorway and subsequently the bird.

"I'll be right back Merlin, I've gotta take care of something really quick." the teen said as the raven flapped its wings, to which it flew up and onto Sora's shoulders.

Upon this occurrence, each of those whom knew her, had seen a flash of Maleficent standing in Sora's place for a brief second. This made many of them narrow their eyes on the bird as they immediately realized it was the witch's pet, Diablo. But before anyone could question this, Sora was already heading toward the far side of the town. Of which lead for many of the occupant's of the house to give chase in order to find out exactly what was happening.

"Don't worry...we'll revive her." the brown-haired girl whispered to the raven as it just looked at her.

'I will admit though...' she continued in her mind while looking over to Maleficent's image in her mind.

'...I'll almost miss having someone in my head whom I can talk to.' Sora finished, her shrugging lightly as the woman simply chuckled.

"As tempting as it would be to stay and slowly take your body for my own, I think the time to enact my long-awaited plans is far overdue." the witch claimed as a small smirk curled her lips.

"Fair enough. And it gives me the freedom to hide things from you that won't require mental blocks from now on." Sora uttered out as she chuckled lightly as well.

Maleficent nodded her head in agreement to this, yet there was a bit of tension between the two after this comment. "You and me both." was all she uttered before they both stopped in front of a large black coat laying on the ground.

* * *

 **Next time on Inverted Sky...'The Rise of the Mistress of all Evil! Sora's back on the hunt?' so stay tuned for the next episode! I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter and will let me know what you thought. And btw, I decided to have Scrooge with an actual ice cream shop where that freezer was in the game. Oh, and the shop he was standing in front of, was the synthesis shop. Anyway, until next time everyone.  
**


	9. Hollow Bastion part II

**Sorry this is a little late, my laptop is having problems with internet connectivity. So it took a while for this to finally get uploaded, but I still hope you all enjoy it regardless. Let me know what you think.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 9: Hollow Bastion part II

As Sora stood over the long black coat on the ground, the teen's friends each rushed up behind her. However, they all paused a few meters back as Sora slowly brought both hands in front of her chest and clapped them together. "Resurrect!" she called out as a large aura of green magic started to swirl around her.

All of this energy arcing through the air and then down to the coat, to which it began sparking with green flames. Though, the garment soon started to rise up from the ground and fill out as if someone was putting it on. All the while, a black and green sphere of energy was pulled from Sora's chest before moving into the coat as well. This quickly taking shape into the evil witch herself; "Maleficent." Sora whispered silently with a small smirk.

The teen then allowed her hands to drop down to her sides as she gazed upon the woman in front of her. "Welcome back." she continued, a small smirk curling her lips as Maleficent looked herself over.

"Hmm...a perfectly executed Resurrect spell." the witch uttered silently while nodding her head in approval.

But seconds later, the woman held out her hand and casted a gigantic bolt of lightning through the air. Her action making many of the people standing nearby quickly go on edge in case of a fight. Yet Maleficent kept facing away from them while slowly summoning her staff, to which she then turned to only look at Sora. "Even my powers seem to have almost been completely restored as well." she claimed as the brown-haired girl simply took on a small and rather proud grin.

"However..." the woman began, her tone sounding a bit more firm.

"...you only this successful because Diablo managed to recover as much of my coat as he had. If there had been any less, my resurrection wouldn't have been as successful." she continued as if disappointed in the teen.

Sora raised a brow to her for a moment before huffing in response and even crossed both arms. "It's exactly because of that reason I didn't put as much effort into the spell as I did. You didn't think I'd let you recover all of your power right away, did you?" she more of stated than asked while taking on a knowing smirk.

"Oh~? Clever girl." Maleficent whispered, her gaining a small smirk of her own as the pair just gaze at each other for a few moments.

There being a great amount of tension between the two as neither quite knew what the other was planning to do now. However, nothing ever occurred as Sora eventually spoke up in a calm and confident manner. "Well, if you're not going to try anything right now... then I'll simply wish you luck in your future endeavors."

Maleficent raised a brow to this, yet she then chuckled briefly and turned herself the the side. "Oh believe me, I won't need 'luck' when my plans come to fruition." she began as Diablo flew from Sora's shoulder to her own.

"But I will give a warning..." the witch continued while glancing toward Sora and even the others as if to finally acknowledge their presence.

"...to all of you..." were her following words as she took on a small, yet devious smile; "...get in my way and I'll destroy you!" Maleficent declared, her letting out a laugh while vanishing in a blaze of green and black fire.

A few moments passed after this sudden disappearance, yet Sora simply let out a breath and closed her eyes. Her feeling a bit more at ease now that the witch had left, to which she savored her freedom for a couple of seconds. However, she quickly took in a breath and spoke up to each of the friends that followed her. "I know that all of you have a lot to say right about now, but before you do...I'd like to explain." she started, yet didn't turn around when speaking.

While she said this, everyone in the group simply remained silent as to allow Sora to continue on with her words. "She merged her consciousness to mine before the final fight against Ansem. However, I didn't actually become aware of her presence until I was traveling through Castle Oblivion. And considering how things were going at that point, it seemed like a inconsequential detail at the time." the girl stated, her shoulders shrugging slightly afterward.

"I considered saying something before I went to sleep for the year, but since she was the only reason I could actually remember what happened there...I thought it was for the best to stay quiet." Sora said while finally turning to face everyone.

"Mainly since I knew none of you would approve of me getting help from an evil witch...much less harboring her inside of my mind. So I didn't want you to worry so much that you'd try and remove her while I was asleep. It would have taken up more time and there was no telling if it would work or not...so I kept quiet." she explained, to which the girl tilted her head down as if in apology.

"I was also going to say something at some point after I had woke up. But because of having her inside my mind and hearing her voice in my head for a whole year..." she continued silently, each of her friends quickly becoming a bit worried about the teen.

"...I actually forgot about it." the girl finished with a sheepish smile, making many in the group to almost fall over from this reasoning.

"Somehow...I feel like it would be more surprising if that wasn't the case." Donald commented with a heavy sigh, making Sora look to him with a pout.

"Hey~! That's not nice~!" the brown-haired teen whined out with a huff, yet soon turned to Kairi as she stepped toward her friend.

This made Sora gulp down nervously as she took a few retreating steps back; "H-Hey...um...I-I promise that I'll stop keeping you in the dark, just-" yet Sora's words came to a stop as Kairi simply hit her friend over the head before hugging her tightly.

"K-Kairi?" she stuttered out with blinking eyes while looking to the girl.

"You better mean that promise." was all the auburn-haired girl whispered out while continuing to hug her friend for a few moments.

Sora blinked a few more times before slowly smiling softly and returning this hug; "I mean it just as much as any other promise I've made." she whispered silently as the pair embraced.

Meanwhile, Maleficent appeared within the dust-covered hall of her castle in Hollow Bastion. Though, she wasn't the only one there, six other figures were seen standing in a circle around a stone table. "Hmph...I hate it when things go mushy." the familiar voice of Hades muttered with a roll of his eyes, the scene of Sora and Kairi disappearing from atop the table's surface.

"But it only makes it that much sweeter for us when we crush them!" Ursula claimed from directly across the Lord of the Death.

"You would say that." a woman's voice claimed in an amused tone, her sounding somewhat old.

"But she does bring up an excellent point." another woman added as she had a rather heavy accent.

"I don't really care about such things myself...but I can agree that there is a certain element of fun to it." a rather smooth talking man said.

"Your words are tiresome and pointless." a gruff, deep and very dark sounding voice suddenly stated as a very evil aura seemed to radiate from him.

"I did not come here to discuss trivial things." he continued while sending a glance toward Pete as he more or less cowered to the side.

"I came here to plan out our strategy of attack and how I can benefit from being apart of this pathetic excuse for a group." the man finished in an impatient tone.

"And so you shall." Maleficent suddenly spoke up as she finally decided to make herself known.

This lead for each of the seven in the room to turn toward her, though each one seemed to have mixed feelings about it. "Hades...wonderful to see you again." she greeted in a calm, yet somewhat sarcastic manner.

Said Lord of the Death merely rolled his eyes in response and crossed his arms; "Uh-huh, whatever you say." he muttered mainly to himself.

"Ursula...always a pleasure. I'm glad to see that you've escaped the prison Triton put you in." the witch continued on as if ignoring the man's comment completely.

"Indeed...no thanks to you." Ursula claimed, her tone showing an obvious dislike toward the witch after the past year.

"I'm not interested in these pleasantries Maleficent." the dark sounding man declared while interrupting the woman in her greetings.

"Ah yes...always a pleasure to see you as well." was all Maleficent had responded with before joining the six at the table.

"But to give you a bit of closure, I have not been gone for the past year for nothing. I have learned a great deal about this generation's Keyblade wielder." the witch continued as the image of Sora reappeared on the table's surface.

"And I know exactly how we can use her to our advantage. Taking all of the worlds for ourselves will be utterly trivial with her as our puppet." she finished with a light laugh, the group watching as Sora an her friends returned to Merlin's house.

"Now then..." the old wizard began while looking to each of the people gathered before directly to the brown-haired teen; "...to get back on track."

"Your main mission has not changed from what it was a year ago. Save as many worlds as you can while defeating as many strong Heartless as possible...just add the Nobodies to the list." the old wizard explained as he stroked his beard.

"However, now with the spell in hand...you will be able to prevent the worlds from sinking into darkness. At least, for the time being." he continued, yet his last few words were added in a more silent manner.

"'For the time being'?" Kairi echoed back with blinking eyes in question.

"Yes. Unfortunately, while the spell is very powerful and can help to protect a world's heart...it's still experimental." Merlin claimed, to which everyone turned to him with a blinking gaze.

"Whaddya mean 'experimental'?" Cid asked while crossing his arms; "Ya mean to tell me that we're placin' our hopes on a spell that might not even work?"

The elder wizard huffed to this and cleared his throat in response; "If you'd allow me to finish, you might understand." he began before take in a breath to explain his words.

"True...the spell is experimental, but it's been heavily tested by Yen Sid, King Mickey and I. So even they can vouch that it works well enough to serve its purpose." the old man continued silently, yet it lead for Sora to raise a brow in question.

"And what exactly is its purpose?" she spoke up, her immediately understanding that there was more to the spell than what had originally been told about it.

Merlin looked to her with a silent gaze for a moment, but he slowly gave a nod and said his next words in a whisper. "After we discovered the faux-Kingdom Hearts the Organization is creating, Yen Sid and I created this spell so that any hearts set free by the Keyblade will simply remain within the world they came from." he started, to which he then held out a hand and summoned three small orbs of light.

"The spell is comprised of three parts; protection, which rejects darkness from reaching the world's heart. Purification, which cleanses the darkness from each Heartless and allows the hearts to join with the world's heart, at least until a time that it is out of danger. At which time the last part of the spell will take effect, rejuvenation, which will help to bring back every single person whom had fallen to the darkness." the wizard continued as everyone in the room was listening intently on what was being said.

"So if we use this spell on each world, we'll put a stop to the Organization's plans completely." Donald spoke up with a small smirk, him seeming to like this plan.

"Yes...but it's only temporary since we don't know if the Organization can somehow bypass the spell and take the hearts regardless. But at the least, we'll slow their plans down long enough to put a stop to them completely." Merlin stated, him shrugging his shoulders slightly near the end.

As each of the others nodded slowly to this, Sora tilted her head down in deep thought while closing her eyes. 'It did feel like there were multiple parts to this spell when I was learning it. But I couldn't figure out what they were, nor how they worked together. Though, now that I do...I can make adjustments to it if I wanted.' she thought inwardly as her eyes slowly opened.

'It might take some time and practice, but...I wonder...' Sora mused before a small smirk curled her lips.

* * *

 **There you have it, Maleficent is back and has a new Council of Evil at her command. Who do you think each of them are? And until next time everyone.**


	10. Beast's Castle part I

**Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 10: Beast's Castle part I

Silence surrounded the forest as night fell once again, each day feeling even shorter than the last. However, upon the bridge stretching toward a tall castle in the midst of the wilderness, three beams of light shown down from the sky. Upon disbursing, it revealed Sora, Kairi and Zola standing in a triangle formation with the former at the front. The trio then glanced around for a quick moment as if to get used to their new surroundings.

"Hmm?" the brown-haired teen hummed out as she immediately recognized the area.

Her gaze eventually turning toward the castle as the storm clouds hovering over it produced a bolt of lightning behind the towering structure. But the girl didn't seem impressed or frightened as she just sighed silently with a roll of her eyes. "I swear, that has to be a natural dramatic effect." she muttered to herself.

"What?" Kairi asked while turning toward her and subsequently the castle, to which another bolt of lightning was seen streaming across the sky.

"Nothing." Sora spoke up before heading toward the gates that separated the bridge and the castle's court yard.

"It's almost too bad that Donald and Goofy had to miss this." she continued as they each continued on their way.

"I hope Merlin isn't keeping them too busy in helping out with the house." Kairi added with a nod in agreement to her friend's comment.

Though, after the auburn-haired girl's words, both teens tilted their heads up while imagining Donald and Goofy carrying large boxes. All while complaining that they couldn't move anymore, yet Yuffie just came in with a whip and an evil laugh. "There are no breaks here~! Muhahahahaha~!"

This image making the pair sweat drop and giggle softly while waving a hand; "Like that would ever happen." Sora muttered, to which Kairi nodded her head.

Neither of them knowing that this exact scene was happening as they spoke, yet Leon slowly walked into the room with a raised brow. "Put that whip back where you found it Yuffie. We're supposed to be helping, not playing." he claimed firmly, to which said ninja just laughed and nodded in response.

Meanwhile, Zola trotted up to Sora's side while letting out a meow as she looked up to the teen. The girl looked down toward the leopard and just sighed with a wave of her hand once more. "No...we can't bring Archimedes for you to play with." she answered back as she let out another silent sigh.

However, this just made Zola meow once more with a slightly different pitch, which made Kairi blink a few times as it actually seemed like she had a language of her own. Though Sora briefly glance toward the large doors they were approaching, she turned back to Zola with a huff. "No...we can't take him along next time." she claimed while crossing her arms.

Zola let out a growling meow to this as she even bared her teeth for a brief second. Sora raised a brow to her before kneeling down to be a bit more at eye level with the large cat. "Alright, how about this...I'll get you some toys to play with after we're done here, deal?" she asked, her then bringing out a hand as if to shake.

The cat looked from the teen's hand before to her, to which she then raised a paw up and placed it into Sora's hand. The brown-haired girl smiled to this as she shook Zola's paw and shook it gently; "Alright...lets go." she uttered out while releasing the cat's paw and standing back up.

Upon reaching out and opening the doors, Kairi looked to her friend with a raised brow. "How is it that you understand her so well? I'm pretty sure you don't actually speak 'leopard'." the auburn-haired girl questioned as they all slowly walked into the castle.

"I heard that you can understand her through your hearts, but how?" Kairi continued while they looked around the large hall, her voice echoing softly off the walls.

The only light sources were a series of candles, all of which were placed up high on an equal number of pillars around the room. These structures being on either side of a red carpet that ran from the entrance, to a stairway directly ahead. This path leading in two different directions, one to the East and the other to the West. Although, there was a large door directly between the two stairways, as if to provide a third road to take.

Despite the dim lighting for the area, it was still just enough for the three to see everything within the hall as they looked through the gloom. Zola however, appeared to be able to see just like it was daylight as her eyes briefly reflected the light from the candles around them. It seeming as if her eyes were glowing, even when she gazed up toward the brown-haired teen as she gave her response.

"Actually..." Sora started silently, her making sure to minimize the amount of echoing around the room.

"...I'm not sure either." she continued, to which they moved toward the stairway.

There being absolutely no other sounds other than their own voices, which made the three a bit more on edge than usual. But despite this, they all kept as calm as possible in order to not be taken by surprise. "Ever since I first picked her up, it was like I could understand exactly what she felt in her heart." the teen explained further while placing a hand over her chest.

"It was like our hearts had connected instantly, or perhaps our bond was just always meant to be." Sora finished as she kept her hand in this pose for a moment before looking from Zola to Kairi.

"I guess it doesn't quite make sense, huh?" she commented with a sheepish smile, her scratching the back of her neck.

"Actually...I think it makes perfect sense." the auburn-haired girl replied while giving a soft smile toward Sora.

However, they soon turned to the side when they noticed one of the doors in the hall was left open. Though there wasn't any light coming through it, the three slowly began to approach the door as quietly as possible. But before the brown-haired girl even got her hand on the handle, a deep and very loud roar echoed through the castle like a rumble of thunder.

Sora quickly turned to the side as she readied her Keyblade, to which Kairi summoned her magic staff and Zola crouched in an attacking pose. There being multiple thumps upon the floor, which gradually became louder as if something big was coming toward them. The three slowly shifted themselves to face one of the stairway paths, all of them able to tell that this was the direction the sounds were coming from.

"I don't mean to freak anyone out...but am I the only one who found that roar familiar." Sora whispered silently, to which she sent a brief glance toward the other two.

"Now that you mention it..." Kairi started, yet never finished as silence seemed to take over the castle once more.

Yet in just a few brief seconds, a large figure came rushing down the stairs with a bunch of Heartless clinging to them. This sudden appearance caused the two teens to let out a scream, as well as for Zola to roar out in a panicked manner. The three then started running right back toward the entrance, to which they rushed outside while still screaming and roaring.

Though, when they went down the few steps that lead to the doors, Sora swiftly spun around and raised an arm out to attack. A ball of dark energy quickly gathering within her hand, but the teen's vision suddenly filled with black and pink as Kairi ran right into her. The brown-haired teen's sudden spin distracted her friend while coming down the stairs, and lead for her to trip right into Sora.

Whom ended up tumbling to the ground together with Kairi as the ball of darkness shot just to the side of the figure. Yet it had still hit a few of the Heartless holding onto what appeared to be a massive arm covered in brown fur. However, this was all the figure needed to tear off the remaining creatures and finally reveal itself to be the Beast that Sora previously met in Hollow Bastion over a year ago.

Though, said teen didn't actually notice as she had swirls in her eyes while laying on the ground with Kairi on top of her. "Sora! Are you alright?" the other girl questioned quickly while sitting up and looking down to her friend.

"But mommy, I don't wanna go to school today." Sora uttered out silently in a daze, to which even Zola came over to her with a blinking gaze.

"I wanna stay home and bake cookies with you~." the teen continued in a slightly more singing voice, making Kairi sweat drop briefly and pat the side of the girl's face.

Upon doing so, Sora blinked a few times as she seemed to finally 'wake up'. "Huh? What?" she muttered while looking around quickly.

Her then noticing the Beast just a bit further into the court yard as he jumped over the pair on the ground. Though Zola was standing in a defensive pose in front of the two teens, Sora slowly smirked softly toward the Beast. "It's alright...he's not an enemy." she commented as she gazed to the leopard.

"Oh...it's him." the auburn-haired girl commented, her standing up slowly before helping Sora to her feet.

"You might not remember since you were just a baby, but he was there in Hollow Bastion." she continued softly, to which she pet the top of Zola's head.

Sora nodded in agreement to this, all while coming up beside the leopard and smiling. "It was when I disappeared for a little while." she explained in a gentle manner as she remembered how distressed Merlin told her the kitten had been.

Zola looked between the two before she seemed to calm down and look to the Beast. Whom, despite having his back turned to them, was noticeably breathing very heavily as if he had been running for hours without rest. He never even seemed to acknowledge the three, save for when he jumped over them. Yet this might have just been a happy accident as he soon fell forward, him having passed out on his feet and only just now lost his balance.

This made the three blink and rush to his sides, to which they slowly turned the large beast onto his side. "Whoa...either those Heartless really did a number on him...or he just likes sleeping outside." Sora commented with a sweat drop as she looked the Beast over.

"But either way...we better get him inside." she continued silently, her giving a quick glance around the area to make sure no other Heartless were nearby.

"Are you sure that inside of the castle is even safe?" Kairi asked, blinking her eyes a few times toward the other teen.

Whom merely nodded in response while easily lifting the Beast off the ground, despite his size. "I don't think anywhere in this area is 'safe'. But at least while being inside, we'll be able to limit the movements of our enemies." Sora explained, to which Kairi nodded as she knew that mages such as them, preferred to stay in a stationary position to maximize their concentration on spells.

"Good point." the auburn-haired girl added silently as she held out her magic staff just in case of an attack.

As the three made their way back into the castle, they quickly decided to forgo going in the same direction that the Beast came from. This lead them up the opposite set of stairs and down a long hallway, of which seemed to have a feeling of Light within in. Both teens were confused by this, yet simply continued on their way until finally reaching the end and saw a set of large doors. But upon pushing them open, they saw a rather empty, yet comfortable looking room with no one inside.

There was a dresser in one corner, a table in another and a bed pushed up against the right wall. Once she saw the last piece of furniture, Sora laid Beast down upon it and let out a heavy sigh. "Funny...I could of swore there would be someone here." she muttered silently with a quick glance around.

"Same. I remember him protecting one of the Princesses when we were surrounded by Heartless. So I figured this was her room." Kairi added as she nodded in agreement to her friend.

"It even feels like she's been here." Sora said while feeling the large amounts of Light within the room as it actually felt very calming.

"I was thinking that too. But then...where is she?" the auburn-haired teen uttered out as if she went toward one of the windows at the far end of the room.

"Belle..." the Beast suddenly whispered, to which each of the three turned toward him.

"Belle...please don't leave..." he continued, it being clear that he was talking in his sleep as his eyes remained closed, even as a tear fell from them.

* * *

 **Sorry if this chapter was slow to start, I had the ending part in mind when I began...but I didn't quite know how to get there. So I hope you can forgive that and I hope you liked the little comedy bit. Anyway, let me know your thoughts and I'll see all of you in the next one.**


	11. Beast's Castle part II

**Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 11: Beast's Castle part II

"We have to go out and look for her." Sora stated silently while standing in front of Kairi with her arms crossed.

The auburn-haired teen nodded slowly in agreement, yet tilted her head down thoughtfully. "I think so too, but how are we supposed to find her? And how do we know she left on her own? It's possible she was kidnapped." she said, her shrugging both shoulders as she lifted her gaze to look at Sora once more.

"Well, we felt her light inside this room...so there should definitely be some residual energy we can follow." the other teen explained, to which she then shook her head afterward.

"But no...she definitely left of her own free will. There is a very strong connection between Belle's and Beast's hearts, so if she had been taken...he definitely would have felt it and rushed off to save her. Just like last time." the brown-haired girl explained as she glanced toward the large beast on the bed.

"The reason why he's stayed here is because he watched her leave willingly. And since I'm sure he would feel it if she was taken to another world, she's still somewhere in this one." Sora continued, to which she tapped her chin a few times.

"Alright...but why did she leave to begin with?" Kairi questioned softly, making the room go silent as they all thought about this.

However, Sora slowly seemed to smile softly as if figuring it out, to which her friend tilted her head in inquiry. Yet the brown-haired teen merely waved a hand while speaking in a whisper; "For the same reason I had to." was as she answered.

Kairi blinked a few times in response, yet slowly smiled back and nodded her head. "To protect us."

"Exactly. It would seem that Belle left because she thought she was protecting Beast." Sora added as she also gave a nod.

"But from what?" the auburn-haired girl asked, her obviously wanting to know what's been happening inside the castle up to this point.

"Well, considering the fact that there are a lot of Heartless here...it's possible she understands that they are attracted to her heart. Therefore, leaving the castle might lure them away from this place and subsequently; Beast." the other teen responded, yet it seemed more like she was giving an excuse rather than an actual answer.

This made Kairi raise a brow in question for a few moments as it sounded like her friend was trying to keep a secret. "Uh-huh...so what's the real reason you think she left?"

Sora blinked at this for a brief second, yet let out a silent sigh and shrugged her shoulders. "The Organization had come to this world multiple times, so I have no doubt that one of its members could have manipulated her into leaving. Whether it's because they want Beast's Heartless and Nobody, or some other reason...I couldn't tell you. But I do think that the Organization is definitely involved in all of this." she said silently while looking to the side as if to make sure no one was listening.

"Therefore, I'll stay here to keep whomever the Organization sent, away from Beast. You two go and look for Belle, all you have to do is follow the trail of light she left behind." the teen stated firmly with a glance between Kairi and Zola.

However, the former just huffed in response and shook her head quickly. "Absolutely not. We're not going to just leave you here to fight the Organization alone." she claimed, to which Zola let out a soft roar in approval of these words.

"But one of us has to find Belle, and I'm not going to leave you on your own...no matter what." Sora argued in a firm, yet worried tone.

"Then you can go get Belle, Zola and I will stay here. We can at least handle one of the Organization's members." Kairi claimed, to which her friend took a breath to make a counter.

"And no...I'm not changing my mind about that. Besides, I don't have much experience in sensing the presence or 'residual energy' of others. So you'd have a better chance at finding Belle than me anyway." she continued quickly, all while raising a hand up to prevent her friend from trying to convince her of otherwise.

After this, Sora remained silent for a moment as she realized that she had lost, to which she merely nodded slowly. "Alright..fine. But if there is any sign of trouble, I want you to get out of here...okay?" she half asked, half pleaded.

Kairi gave a small smile in response as she nodded slowly; "Deal."

The brown-haired girl returned this gesture, her sending a glance toward the window as if wondering just how far the Princess of Heart had gone. "Okay..." she began as her gaze turned back toward Kairi and Zola.

"...I'll be right back." the girl continued, to which the two nodded briefly and signaled Sora to head out of the room.

Upon doing so, she closed the doors behind her and let out a silent breath of relief. The teen having gotten her friend to do what she wanted from the start, in order to keep her out of danger. 'While the castle is dangerous and littered with Heartless and likely Nobodies as well...the Organization is very likely not here anymore. The only place they would need to be, is wherever the biggest threat to their plan is located.' she thought while rushing down the hallway.

'And if they put so much effort into getting Belle away, she is their biggest threat. Though the fact that they have been keeping her alive must mean there is something more going on than just turning Beast into a Heartless. I'm sure that getting rid of her completely would make it easier to make Beast sink fully in darkness. So for whatever reason...they can't hurt her. But whether it's because their power don't work, or something more...I need to use that to my advantage.' Sora continued as she reached the end of the stairs and headed toward the large doors.

"But first...I need to find her." she whispered aloud before immediately rushing off as fast as possible through the doors.

The girl reaching the edge of the forest within seconds of crossing the bridge, to which she continued along the only dirt path for a few minutes. Her momentum never stopping, even when a pack of wolves noticed her approach and tried to attack her. Their jaws clamping down on nothing but air as the teen zoomed by, her already being out of sight before they had even opened their mouths. Though, Sora quickly came to a stop when the path split in two different directions like a 'y'.

This made her blink a few times as it seemed like the road she was on was in fact the branching path to the main one. However, it brought up the question of which direction had Belle gone after leaving. 'There was only one road the whole way here, so I didn't bother trying to sense Belle's light. But now that I'm thinking about it, if she left even yesterday...the natural light of the world will probably dilute hers. It was only so strong in the castle because that place is surrounded in darkness, as well as some sort of magic.' the girl thought to herself while closing her eyes.

"Lets just hope that Maleficent's lessons on sensing darkness applies similarly to the light." she uttered silently, to which her mind started concentrating on what the witch taught her.

'If I stretch my senses out a bit on both paths, it should give me a better idea of which way to go.' Sora finished, a pulse of invisible energy rippling outward as the darkness in the teen's vision almost seemed to light up with the surrounding area.

This slowly fading the further along it went, yet a very thin trail of light could be seen heading toward the left path. "Gotcha." she whispered before turning in this direction, opening her eyes and rushed down the road.

'Huh...that was actually kinda cool, it was like I was using echolocation or something.' were her thoughts while going on her way.

Though, it was only a few minutes before a town came into her view, to which she came to a sudden halt. Of which caused a cloud of dirt and dust to briefly surround her, this being kicked up from the sheer speed she had been traveling. As Sora gazed at the scattered candle light across the village, she took on a small smirk as Belle's light could be felt quite strongly throughout the area. "This is definitely where she is." the teen whispered before making her way into the town.

Upon doing so, she noticed many of the town's people simply going about their nightly work as she passed. However, the teen never noticed that the moment she walked by, everyone stopped what they were doing to look at her in shock and surprise. Sora being the first new person in the village for years at this point, it being mostly self-sustaining and didn't usually get many visitors. But as the girl walked on, she looked around for a brief moment while narrowing her gaze.

'I might have found the right place, but since her light is everywhere...I can't tell where it's originating from.' she thought to herself while glancing from side to side.

As she did, her hair fell over both shoulders, which lead for the teen to flip it behind her with a quick movement with a hand. Immediately after she did this, Sora heard a few people gasping, to which she shifted her gaze around quickly with blinking eyes. Though everyone seemed to just be doing their normal activities, the girl couldn't shake the feeling that they were still staring at her when she wasn't looking. But she merely ignored this as she continued on her way, yet quickly sighed heavily when she couldn't find any solid trail for the light filling the town.

"Guess I'll have to ask around." Sora uttered out silently, to which she turned to the side as a baker seemed to be preparing tomorrow's batch of bread.

However, before she could even ask him a question, a deep baritone voice was heard behind her. "Why hello there."

Once the girl turned around, she saw a tall man with an extremely athletic build, a cleft chin, and a handsome appearance. His hair was long, yet slicked-back and tied into a ponytail. He possessed icy blue eyes that gazed over Sora as if she were some sort of prey. The man's clothing consisted of yellow hunting gloves, a red tunic and black tights with similarly colored boots.

"I couldn't help but notice that you seemed a bit...lost." he continued while inching his face a bit too close to Sora's.

"Yeah...a bit." the teen commented silently, her side-stepping away from the man.

"I'm looking for a particular person in this town." she added as the man turned himself to face her once more.

"Oh really? Well...I know everyone in town, so perhaps I could help you." the man said with a tone that suggested he wanted something in return.

"Uh-huh..." Sora hummed out with a very brief glance at him; "...I'm pretty sure I could ask anyone for the information I need."

"Perhaps...but then you wouldn't have the privilege of having me tell you." was the answer she received, making the teen roll her eyes in response.

"Right...and you are?" she questioned without even looking at him, or more like she just didn't want to.

"Me?" the man began as he finally stepped away and even seemed to strike a pose that enhanced his muscular build; "I am Gaston~! The most popular and influential man in town."

After his claims, Sora glanced to him once more with a raised brow as if not impressed in the slightest. "How...interesting." she muttered in a tone that showed her annoyance.

However, Gaston didn't seem to notice this, or he simply didn't care as he leaned toward her once more. "Indeed, if you need to find someone...I'm the man to turn to." he declared proudly.

"All I ask in return, is a chance to take you out to see the town." the man stated in a tone that basically told everyone around them to not get in his way.

This only making him sound even less impressive to the teen, her groaning silently as the surrounding people moved away from them. 'I guess he's not completely lying about being influential, but I'd rather not have to deal with someone like...'this'.' she thought quickly with a heavy sigh.

'Although...' Sora continued, a small smirk developing on her features while glancing to the man once more; '...it doesn't seem that he has much in terms of brains.' she mused before turning to Gaston fully.

"Very well then." she began in a confident tone, her crossing both arms across her chest.

"I'm looking for a woman named; 'Belle'. And if you help me find her, I'll consider your offer." Sora claimed as she sounded truthful in her words, yet was actually holding back the urge to gag from saying these words.

Gaston went silent for a brief moment, yet he quickly smirked and nodded his head. "So, you're a friend of Belle's, eh?" he started as his expression turned to a wide and charming smile.

"How fitting that two beautiful women should know one another. It seems even more fitting for the most handsome man around to spend some time with you both." Gaston continued with a laugh at the end.

"Perhaps you could convince her to join us in our walk around town!" the raven-haired man finished, to which Sora had to turn away for a few seconds.

'Oh man...I almost threw up there. This guy is so disgusting, I really wanna to punch him as hard as possible.' she thought to herself before quickly turning around and walking up beside Gaston.

"Just lead the way." Sora uttered, it taking everything she had to not sound like she was about to be sick.

* * *

 **I hope people are still enjoying this series, I've been getting less and less feedback, so I don't really know. I guess I'll keep going so long as one person still likes it, but anyway...I hope everyone like this chapter. Until next time.**


	12. Beast's Castle part III

**I have an important announcement at the end, so please make sure to read it fully.  
**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 12: Beast's Castle part III

Sora moved slowly with a silent groan escaping her lips, the teen looking like a zombie while she walked. Her literally dragging both feet each time she took a step, of which only added to the illusion of her joining the living dead. All of this being caused by the infinite number of hunting stories Gaston was telling her as they continued on their way. Each of which seemed to center around how 'amazing' the man was, as he kept making it a point to reiterate this so called 'fact'.

"And then...I shot the deer right in the heart!" Gaston claimed in a proud tone as he pretended to shoot an invisible gun.

"As usual, my aim is always on point. No one could ever match me in hunting! Don't you think?" he questioned in a halfway rhetorical manner as if anything said right now would just be interpreted as 'yes' anyway.

"Sure." was all Sora uttered out while looking around to the town's folk as they passed them.

Her almost pleading for one of them to help her as Gaston appeared to be more interested in telling stories than leading her to Belle. 'I swear, this is the fifth time we've passed that bookstore.' the teen thought to herself in a groan.

Though, after a few more stories from Gaston, they finally seemed to get back on track. The two now approaching a lone house on the edge of town, it having it's own watermill and bridge across the small stream running by it. Upon walking up toward the door, Sora stepped out in front of Gaston and cleared her throat. "Thank you for bringing me this far, but I'll take things from here." she claimed quickly while slowly pushing him back down the steps.

"But I'd also like to-" the man began, but paused when the brown-haired girl interrupted.

"I'm sure you would, but everything has an order. And right now isn't the time I'm afraid." Sora stated as she managed to make Gaston go all the way down to the last step without him even noticing.

"I'll tell her about your offer, so just be patient and wait for her to come to you." she continued, her voice almost sounding too manipulative.

However, this seemed to go right over the man's head as he merely smirked and nodded his head. "That sounds like a great idea." he said while his smirk turned into an almost devious one.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Sora muttered silently to herself as she rolled her eyes.

Yet the teen quickly cleared her throat and gestured for Gaston to take his leave. "Well...have a nice night, see you never-I mean later." she finished before opening the door herself and going through it.

Immediately after doing so, the girl slammed the door shut and let out a heavy sigh. "That was so much more exhausting than it should have been." he muttered out silently in a groan.

"Sora?" a sudden voice spoke up inquisitively from behind the girl.

The brown-haired girl quickly turned around with blinking eyes, to which she saw Belle sitting at a dinner table along with an elder man. Whom was rather short in stature, had a rotund figure, white balding hair and a similarly colored mustache. His attire was that of a forest green vest, as well as a shirt of a similar, yet lighter color underneath. He also had pants that were also green, but were an even darker shade than his vest. Meanwhile, his belt and boots were both a dark brown that actually blended well with the various shades of green.

"Ah, Belle...it's been a while." Sora greeted with a sheepish smile, her scratching the back of her neck while looking over the girl's blue dress and white undershirt.

"Over a year." Belle responded as she nodded slowly in agreement, though it didn't take long for the other teen to notice the dark circles around her eyes.

"Yeah...been a bit busy." Sora uttered in a manner that matched her smile perfectly.

"So...'this' is the 'Sora' girl you mentioned before?" the elder man asked in an inquisitive tone while looking between the two girls.

"Yes Papa...she's the one who rescued me." Belle responded, to which Sora simply gave a shrug.

"Thank you so much, I appreciate you saving my daughter from those bandits. Oh, I'm Belle's father...you can just all me Maurice." the man introduced with a wide smile on his old features.

Sora blinked to this briefly before looking to Belle, yet she quickly understood that the girl didn't want her father to know what really happened. "It was no problem at all." she responded while smiling softly.

"So what brings you here?" Belle asked, it being clear she already had an idea of what it could be about.

"Actually..." Sora began, yet paused with a glance toward Maurice; "...could you give us a moment? It's a bit of a private matter."

Upon these words, the elder man blinked a few times and nodded his head slowly. "Of course, I'll be in the other room if you need anything." he answered while heading to a separate part of the small house.

Sora then turned fully to Belle and narrowed her eyes slightly; "Beast is in trouble, there are Heartless all over the castle and he's likely not far from being consumed by the darkness." the teen said quickly, yet in a quiet voice to make sure Maurice couldn't hear.

Belle's eyes widened for a brief moment before they closed tightly and she shook her head. "I knew that man couldn't be trusted...but I was still hoping that leaving was the best thing to do." she whispered softly as her eyes slowly opened.

"That man Xaldin, he told me that the light in my heart would just keep drawing more and more Heartless to Beast's castle. If I go back, I'll just be putting him at an even greater risk. I can't do anything to help him...but stay away." she continued, to which her voice cracked slightly at the very end as if she was about to cry.

"You're wrong Belle." Sora started in a firm tone while narrowing her eyes once more, the other girl blinking a few times in response.

"It's true that your heart draws Heartless toward you, but it also has the power to keep them away. You have the strength to protect those around you from the darkness, so long as you believe in yourself." she finished with a small smile curling her lips.

Upon these words, Belle gazed at Sora with a shocked expression before tilting her head down in doubt. "How can you be so sure about that?" she whispered out silently.

"Because Kairi did that for me." the other teen claimed almost immediately, as if knowing that Belle would ask this.

Her answered caused the girl to blink many more times, to which she slowly began to smiling softly. "Do you really think I can save Beast?" she asked, her tone sounding like she wanted to start believing this herself.

"Absolutely. If you have the will to do it...anything is possible." Sora stated, to which Belle slowly tilted her head up to gaze back into the other girl's eyes.

"Could I even protect him from Xaldin if he tries to stop me?" she uttered out silently as it was clear she was worried about this possibility.

"Well...lets not try to jump before walking." Sora commented with a sweat drop and sheepish smile.

However, she then quickly cleared her throat and gestured to herself with a hand. "Let me handle Xaldin, you just focus on keeping the Heartless away from Beast. And once we've won...not only Beast, but this whole world will be saved." she continued, a small grin curling her lips as she spoke so confidently that Belle couldn't help but nod.

"Alright." she responded while taking on a grin of her own.

Sora grinned even wider to this, though she soon crossed her arms and cleared her throat. "But before that..." she started with a glance to the dark circles under Belle's blinking eyes.

"...we have to get you a bit more rested. I assume you've been crying every night and not sleeping very much?" the teen continued, to which Belle blinked even more as a blush developed on her cheeks.

"How did you...?" she questioned almost voicelessly in her embarrassment.

"I noticed the moment I saw you, but I figured I'd save it for the end." Sora answered, her smirking lightly while holding out a hand for the other girl to take.

Immediately after taking her offered hand, Belle suddenly felt her fatigue fade away and for a surge of energy to take its place. This also causing the dark circles under her eyes to slowly fade away, as if she was receiving many days of rest all at once. "What was that?" she questioned with a surprised gaze.

"A little trick I picked up from my most recent teacher. He used it multiple times for my training, so I was bound to pick up on it eventually." Sora answered as she only gave half of the information since the other teen wouldn't understand magic all that much.

Belle simply nodded her head slowly, yet she also held a knowing look in her eyes. This coming from the fact that she figured out why Sora left this for the end. Her wanting to make sure that Belle herself had the will and determination to save the Beast before helping her. This making her smirk while they released each others hands; "Thank you." Belle whispered while her smirk turned into a smile.

"Of course. Helping others to help themselves is what he said a Keyblade wielder is meant to do." Sora claimed as she gestured toward the back door just out of sight.

"Shall we?" she asked quickly, her having taken notice of the door right after entering.

This lead for Belle to gave a nod to her gesture and call out in the direction her father went. "Papa, I'll be going out for a bit~!"

"I'll be right back~!" Belle continued, yet neither of the teens waited for Maurice's response before rushing outside the house.

"O-Oh...well have fun you two~! Be safe out there~! There might be wolves wandering around at this time of..." but his words slowly drifted off while reentering the room, only to find that the pair were already gone; "...night."

As Sora rushed along with Belle, they headed straight toward the other end of town where the former entered. However, just as they were about to reach the forest, a figure suddenly stepped out of the shadows as if they had been waiting for the two. "Now where do you think you're going?" a familiar voice questioned in an almost taunting manner.

While Belle's eyes widened briefly, Sora simply appeared sick to be her stomach. "Oh great..." she uttered to herself while looking to Gaston.

Whom smirked in an overly charming manner as he walked between the pair and the path into the forest. "I do hope that you don't plan on leaving." he continued, him stepping closer to the two teens.

"I had a little agreement with-" however, Gaston was instantly cut short when Sora held out a hand and whispered; "Sleep."

This caused the man to instantly fall flat on his face as he lost consciousness. Belle blinked many times to this as she turned to the other girl, whom spoke up in a silent groan. "Sorry...but I've had enough of that man to last several lifetimes." she muttered, to which she just took Belle's hand into her own and ran right over Gaston's sleeping body.

"Let's hurry!" Sora called out, them simply continuing on their way.

As they went, a second figure emerged from the shadows and brought a hand out toward the unconscious man. "It seems we've run out of time." the person said silently as an aura of darkness surrounded Gaston.

"Now...give in to your jealousy...your pride...your anger. If you cannot have her..." they continued, the sleeping man suddenly rising up from the ground.

"...no one can." the figure finished, Gaston opening his eyes as they began to glow bright red.

"Belle is mine." he growled out in a voice that sounded as if more than one person was talking.

* * *

 **There you have it. Shall Gaston have is revenge? Will Sora face Xaldin? Will Gaston ever shut up? Find out next time. ;)**

 **Anyway, my announcement is this: from this point on, my updates are going to be biweekly. Or basically, every other week. I'll still update on Saturday as per usual, but I'm going to go with an easier update schedule. Mainly so that I can make these chapters as good as I possibly can, but also because I'm going to start rewriting/adding chapters for each of the previous parts. I'll make sure to let everyone know which ones are which so you don't have to reread the entire story. I'll be starting with KH I soon, so expect the following update to also feature a revised version of 'Dark Swamp'. The only parts I'll likely revisit for KH I are the worlds I added. But make sure to stay tuned to these chapters as well, since I'll be letting all of you know what is being changed or added for that update. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter and will let me know what you thought. Until next time.  
**


	13. Beast's Castle part IV

**Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 13: Beast's Castle part IV

Sora and Belle rushed through the forest, the cold air blowing their similarly brown hair behind them as they went. The snow-dusted trees creaking slightly as a strong gust of wind blew through the woods from directly ahead of the pair. Both of them continuing on their way, even as the wolf pack moved to attack them. Sora simply putting them to sleep in a similar fashion as the raven-haired man just minute ago.

This allowed them to reach the castle gates within mere moments, yet the girl in black quickly stopped once they reached the center of the courtyard. "This spot should do." she stated quickly, to which Belle stopped as well.

Her breathing rather heavily as she had never run so fast or long in her whole life, which made Sora give her a few seconds to catch her breath. "Before we go inside, I want to show you how to use your power to protect yourself and the Beast from the darkness." she began while gesturing to Belle's heart.

The other teen blinked briefly to this before she then slowly nodded her head and gave a determined gaze to Sora. "Alright, what do I have to do?" she questioned, leading for the girl in black to nod back at her words and expression.

"First...close your eyes and think of an event or a person that has made you feel really happy. The happier you were, the more power you will release." Sora explained, to which Belle followed these instructions and placed a single hand against the top of her chest.

Mere seconds later, a soft white glow emanated from where her hand was placed, to which the other girl smirked in response. "Good...feel the warmth radiating from inside of you and slowly pull it outward." Sora whispered softly in order to not break Belle's concentration.

After these words, the teen moved her hand away from her chest and extended it out. The glow having moved from Belle's chest, to her hand as it began to glow brighter and brighter in the night. "Now think to yourself; 'I reject the darkness' and unleash your power." the girl in black finished quickly while slowly bracing herself.

Belle's closed eyes tightened as the light in her hand turned into a ball and instantly expanded outward in all directions. This creating a huge dome of light that briefly engulfed the entire court yard before fading away. Though nothing seemed to have changed, Sora was now a few meters further away from the other teen as she had been forced backward from this power.

"Perfect." Sora whispered with a smile as she walked up to Belle, whom opened her eyes.

"You're quite a natural, but I suppose that's expected of a Princess of Heart, right?" she continued, her giving a wink as Belle smiled back.

"Thanks...so do you think it'll be enough?" she questioned while taking a glance at the castle.

"More than enough." Sora responded, to which she then took Belle's hand into her own and lead the girl inside the large building.

Both teens made their way to the same room Kairi and Zola were waiting in, yet there were a few extra objects within it than before. This caused Sora to blink a few times as she didn't recall seeing a candelabra, a clock, a tea pot or a tea cup on the desk. "Um...did I miss something?" she asked while looking to Kairi.

Whom simply smiled sheepishly and glanced to the side while scratching the back of her neck. "Well...while you were gone, Zola and I might have checked out the castle a bit." she started before gesturing to each of these four objects.

"Along the way, I found these guys and many others locked away in a dungeon. So I had to rescue them." Kairi continued, her shrugging both shoulders as Sora merely blinked and raised a brow in question.

"Um...okay. But why though?" was the other girl's inquiry.

"Why because we'd rust otherwise!" the clock suddenly spoke up in an accent of sorts, to which Sora turned to this object with a blinking gaze.

"Um...sorry?" she uttered out silently while turning to the other items on the table.

"It's quite alright...it's not every day people come across an enchanted castle." the candelabra stated in different, yet even stronger accent.

"So this is 'Sora' you spoke of? It's very nice to make your acquaintance, my name is Mrs. Potts and this is my son Chip." the tea pot spoke up, her voice having a similar accent as the clock as she hopped a bit closer to the table's edge along with the tea cup.

"Hiya~!" the cup called out in a young child's voice.

"I am Lumiere~! It is a pleasure, mon cherie." the candelabra introduced as he gestured to himself with one of his candles and bowed.

"And I am Cogsworth~! It's an honor." the clock declared in an obviously proud tone.

"Y-Yeah...nice to meet you too." Sora greeted while looking to each of these objects.

Kairi then walked over to her friend with a light giggle and pat on the shoulder. "I know, it's a bit strange at first...but they were once people before the enchantment over the castle." she explained, to which her friend turned to her with blinking eyes.

"Well..." the auburn-haired girl began as Belle walked over to the Beast's side.

Her looking him over for a moment as she could see all of his injuries and signs of utter exhaustion. This made the girl tilt her head down in shame as she regretted leaving, to which she then took in a deep breath. Though it had been a bit shaky, she then narrowed her eyes and brought both hands out toward the Beast. Her quickly focusing on a happy memory just like before, despite the situation. Yet it actually seemed to make the girl's determination even greater as the glow was several times brighter.

Meanwhile, Sora had her back turned to all this as she simply allowed Kairi and each of the objects tell their story. But it wasn't until the last second that she turned around and gulped down heavily. "Oh shi-" yet she was cut off as a huge pulse of light flowed out of Belle and flooded through the whole castle.

The light filling every dark corner and crevice until no darkness was visible, to which every last Heartless vanished. Once this happened, the light finally cleared away to show that Sora had been pushed against the wall behind her. "Did it work?" was all Belle could think to ask as her gaze turned toward the other brown-haired teen.

Whom gave a small smile a nod of her head in response while stepping away from the wall unharmed. "Yeah, there are no more Heartless inside the castle." Sora answered with a wider smile curling her lips, yet she quickly pouted as Kairi came over and started hitting her over the head with two fingers.

"What did I say about using that sort of language?" the auburn-haired girl demanded firmly while her friend simply whined and claimed that it was an 'in the moment' thing.

Belle glanced to this with a soft smile, yet quickly turned to the Beast with a blinking gaze when she felt his paw touch her cheek. "Beast!" she called out as she looked at his own smile.

"Belle..." he started silently, his gaze showing a great amount of happiness; "...you came back."

"Of course...I'm sorry I ever left in the first place." the girl began, to which she briefly tilted her head down once more.

"But I won't do that again. I'm here to protect you, so you can rest at ease...cause I'm not going anywhere." she finished in a firm and confident tone, making Beast gaze at her in both shock and appreciation.

All the while, Sora smiled to this scene along with the others in the room, to which she slowly took on an expression of pride. However, her gaze quickly turned to a nearby window as her mood instantly changed to a serious one. Something of which, didn't go unnoticed by the others in the room as they each gazed out the windows as well. Upon doing so, they saw a large man in red leading an enormous horde of Heartless toward the castle.

"Well...I guess it was only a matter of time before something like this happened." Sora muttered with a sigh, to which she turned to Belle, Beast and the living objects.

"All of you stay here, we'll handle this." she claimed with a gesture to Kairi and Zola, the last of whom let out a light roar in agreement.

The three then rushed out of the room after receiving a nod of approval from the others, to which they went straight through the entrance doors. After they had, the trio stopped on the last step of the stairs and simply waited for the horde to come to them. However, as they stood in a line, Sora glanced to Kairi with a raised brow. "So then...I assume you've had enough of Heartless for the day?" she asked in a light chuckle.

Kairi looked to her friend and just nodded her head in response, all while sighing heavily. "Most definitely. So if it's all the same to you, I'll take on the leader." she stated as Sora merely nodded her head back.

"Not a problem, I've had more than enough of that guy...so he's all yours." the brown-haired teen claimed, yet it made her friend turn and gaze at her in a somewhat suspicious manner.

"What do you mean by that?" Kairi asked quickly, yet not fast enough as the large army of Heartless finally began pouring through the open gates.

The leader revealing to be Gaston as he marched forward with a large rifle in hand, the barrel of which had a very wide end to it. As he approached the three standing in front of the doors, his fully red eyes seemed to focus completely on Sora. This making her simply sweat drop and turn to Kairi with a small, yet sheepish smile. "Well...have fun~!" she sang out before rushing to the side along with Zola.

Kairi held a very suspicious gaze at her friend, yet she soon sighed and looked to Gaston. Whom seemed ready to chase after the other teen, to which she brought her wand out and shot a burst of lightning magic directly in front of him. "I'm your opponent." she claimed firmly while moving into a more defensive pose.

All the while, Sora rushed to the side and moved closer toward the Heartless as if to make sure that they would look at her. "That's right...I'm the one you want~! Follow me~!" she called out as if she were directing a tour group.

Sora slowly moving herself and the huge army of Heartless back across the bridge; "That's good! Keep coming~!" the teen continued as her voice remained the same.

However, once they were all beyond the gate, Sora jumped over all of them. Her elegantly landing right next to Zola, said leopard being at the edge of the bridge almost three meters from the closest Heartless. Upon touching down on the ground, the brown-haired teen grinned and glanced to Zola. "Alright...now that we've got most of them lined up, lets give that technique another try." Sora suggested with a small grin.

Zola let out a quick roar in approval, to which she and Sora moved into a battle-ready pose while the Heartless began swarming toward them. But as a yellow glow began emitting around the pair, they became a twin set of lightning bolts that streamed through the horde in less than a second. This eliminating almost half of them in an instant as Sora and Zola appeared many meters on the other side of the army.

"It worked! That was awesome!" the teen called out happily as her leopard companion roared in her own joy.

"We gotta try it again~!" Sora continued while turning to watch the remaining Heartless swarm toward their new location.

However, they seemed to focus more on going to the pair's sides as to avoid another attack like the last. Yet Sora merely grinned a bit wider toward Zola as they both seemed to have the same idea when seeing this. "Zig-zag~!" the brown-haired girl called out before they both sped off to either side.

The two moving in a true zig-zag formation that allowed them to rush right past each other, mere centimeters apart. Though, their close proximity was not only to make sure the Heartless couldn't get away, but to also use each other's trail of lightning magic to charge their own following strike. This making it so they would only need to use a small portion of magic to preform the whole attack. Of which had only lasted a few quick seconds as the pair finally stopped at the edge of the bridge.

After giving one another a quick glance, they they turned back to look at the aftermath of their assault. Aside from the many scorch marks on the ground, there were also no Heartless remaining. Upon seeing this, the two turned to each other once more and let out a victory cheer, or roar in Zola's case. "I'm really glad I get to fight along side you." the teen claimed happily while kneeling down and petting Zola.

"I'm looking forward to spending more time together." she continued softly as the bond between the two actually seemed even stronger than ever before.

The leopard immediately began to let out a purring-like growl to show her own happiness. But this moment quickly came to a pause as an all too familiar voice spoke up from the side. "What a touching scene." Xaldin muttered silently with a soft chuckle.

* * *

 **And there you have it, next chapter will be starting off with Kairi's fight...so don't worry, I'm not skipping over that. ;) And if all goes according to plan, it'll be the last chapter for Beast's castle with a pretty epic finale. ^^ Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed and will let me know what you thought of it. Until next time.**

 **P.S: The first chapter of 'The Swamp' from KH I will be up right after this. Not a whole lot different, but the main difference will be quite obvious and will lead into other, and much bigger differences.**


	14. Beast's Castle part V

**Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 14: Beast's Castle part V

"I'm your opponent." Kairi claimed while narrowing her gaze upon Gaston.

Whom just seemed to glare rather wildly at her, his rational mind having dissolved into an animalistic one. Something of which the teen took notice of immediately as she slowly moved away from the castle's entrance. The girl moving her mage staff to the side while muttering silently to herself. Yet due to firing his gun toward her without even the slightest hint of hesitation, Gaston didn't hear any of what she said. The spray of bullets however, merely hit and bounced off of the Reflect spell around his target.

Whom smirked as she briefly watched her friend lead the horde of Heartless away, to which her attention quickly turned back to the man in front of her. "Since Sora will be making quick work of them...I'm gonna have to make quick work of you." she commented confidently while slowly stopping and shifting herself to the side.

"If I can anyway." Kairi added silently, a sheepish smile curling her lips.

Immediately following her comment, the man quickly gained a black aura around him as he pointed his gun toward the girl once more. This making her eyes narrow slightly as she watched the darkness around Gaston flow into his weapon. There only being a split second before the gun fired once more, despite the man never reloading it properly. The 'bullets' themselves embedded themselves in the girl's spell, as well as leaving a series of cracks across its surface. Upon seeing this, the teen quickly took notice of the fact that the bullets were now made up of the darkness surrounding the man.

After realizing what occurred, Kairi quickly brought her staff over her head and cast a Thundaga spell into the air. Of which struck down right in front of Gaston as he jumped backward, yet his attention was instantly drawn down to his feet. Them being encased in ice and completely stopped him from moving any further. There being a trail of ice leading from the auburn-haired girl's feet to his own, which had been forming since Kairi's whispering words.

However, a quick burst of darkness shattered the ice and allowed Gaston to step forward. Him taking aim at where the teen had previously been, but didn't fire as Kairi seemed to have vanished after he looked away. Though, as he began looking around the area, his fiery-red eyes glared from side to side in search of his opponent. Whom was standing a few meters behind him making slow motions with her staff as a stream of white energy trailed behind her weapon.

This forming a series of variously colored spheres, to which Kairi took on a small grin upon her features. "This is the first time I'm using this spell on an actual target...so bare with me on this." she commented, which gained Gaston's attention.

Instantly after hearing her voice, the man swiftly turned around and shot his weapon once more. While force of his 'bullets' had increased, it still didn't even scratch the Reflega spell around the teen. "Magic Blitz!" she called out as the spheres formed into one and blasted Gaston head on with an overwhelming wave of magic.

The attack knocked him backward many meters, to which he crashed into the curved wall surrounding the court yard. After this, Kairi smirked softly with a nod of her head in accomplishment; "Sora was right...that spell is kinda fun to use." she muttered silently to herself.

Almost immediately after this comment however, Kairi turned toward the entrance of the bridge just in time to watch a figure fly past her. This caused her to blink a few times before turning toward the area of impact, where the figure slammed hard into the side of the castle. "What the...?" she uttered out silently, yet in great surprise.

-A few moments previous-

"How very touching." Xaldin muttered silently with a soft chuckle.

Immediately after hearing this voice, Sora's mind was filled with a great many memories and emotions. The first being of Xion's mixed times spent with the man on missions for the Organization. Then of happiness when she got him to laugh at a joke she told about Demyx's poor singing skills. But the last and most prominent one was of rage when watching both Lexaeus and Larxene die in front of her. Despite the face of the person never being seen, Sora still remembered seeing the distinct spear-like shape running through the pair before the recorded stopped.

This made the whites of the teens eyes fill in with black and the pupils of her eyes turn into slits. Though her eyes slowly turned gold, they appeared to become a lighter shade of blue for a brief moment. But just as Xaldin opened his mouth to speak once more, Sora was already in front of him. Her gaze being completely void of any emotion, which actually seemed to frighten the man just before the teen delivered a punch to his stomach.

The girl's fist going right through the spears Xaldin summoned to try and soften the blow. Yet the impact against him was still enough to crack the ground under them and even for the nearby trees to bow outward from the force. It also knocked the man backward and straight by Kairi just as she was turning to check on Sora and Zola. The former of whom had rushed by her immediately after Xaldin had, to which the latter came running to catch up. However, as the brown-haired teen came toward the raven-haired man, she brought her fingers together to make a point.

Within the blink of an eye, she stabbed her hand toward Xaldin's his chest. But the man flew into the air in a swift motion to avoid this attack; "I'm not here to fight." he said quickly, just as Sora followed him into the air.

"I'm here to deliver a message from Xemnas." the man finished while using all of his reformed spears to block a spinning kick toward him.

Sora having spun herself around when jumping, to which her strike ended up shattering the man's weapons once more. "I don't give a damn about what he has to say." she growled out, to which she used her own Aero magic to push herself closer to the flying man.

"Even if it means missing out on the fact that your formerly deceased friends are actually alive?" Xaldin said quickly as he kept moving away from the attacking girl.

Whom gained wide eyes in shock as she dropped to the ground, her losing concentration over the Aero spell. This made the raven-haired man smirk while slowly hovering down toward the group. Kairi and Zola having rushed to Sora's side for a possible fight; "Xemnas has determined it's worth telling you that once a person's Heartless and Nobody have been destroyed, the original is reformed." he explained, him remaining just over each of the teen's heads as he knew better than to come too close.

"Therefore, he has decided to make it a game of whether or not you get to save them this time...or to let them die again." Xaldin claimed, to which Sora narrowed her eyes on the man as she did her best to remain calm and collected.

"Whether you wish to play is entirely up to you...but you better hurry and decide. Who knows what might happen if one of us finds them first." he finished, just before vanishing in a portal of darkness.

Sora took in and let out a breath to this, her almost not believing what she just heard. The girl being completely prepared for revenge, but now there was a possibility of saving them again. After a few seconds of silence however, she was brought out of these thoughts as Kairi placed a hand on her shoulder. The auburn-haired girl opened her mouth to say something, but a low growl coming from Gaston interrupted her.

As the three turned toward the man, they saw that he was completely engulfed in darkness and seemed to actually be transforming. When the darkness fully seeped back into Gaston's new body, it revealed him to look like a large beast of sorts. He had black skin while having his whole body wrapped in teal colored thorns. There were also brown chains visible around both his wrists and ankles. Yet despite the ones on his arms seeming to be broken, the set connecting his feet were not. He also held a large, red, toothy maw and small, glowing yellow eyes. While he did still appear muscular with large hands and feet, his limbs were rather thin now. Each of which sported three fingers with long, red claws and the ends. But what truly stood out was the heart-shaped hole in his chest, which showed his full decent into darkness.

"Funny...it took for him to become a Heartless before his ugliness was shown on the outside." Sora whispered silently, her gaze almost appearing sympathetic for the man.

But this was likely only due to the sudden news a few moments ago, the teen still trying to adjust to it. Though Kairi just gazed to her friend in worry along with Zola, neither one of them quite sure of how the girl would take all this. On one hand, she could become desperate and rush to try and save as many of her friends as possible while not caring who got in her way. But on the other, the teen could mask her feelings and simply become completely unpredictable.

Either way, the auburn-haired girl moved her hand away from Sora's shoulder and took one of her hands instead. This caused the other girl to blink many times, a light flush developing on her cheeks as they gazed into one another's eyes. Zola looked up to this and almost seemed to smile, though they all turned back to the beast that Gaston become when he let out a loud roar. Yet it only made Sora growl silently while sending him a quick glare; "You ruined a perfectly good mood." she muttered in a light huff.

After they turned their attention to the Heartless Gaston had turned into, they readied for the fight ahead. Of which sparked the creature's drive to quickly charge toward the trio with his mouth completely open as if to eat them. Kairi brought up her magic staff to cast a Reflega spell, yet Sora suddenly grabbed both her and Zola before jumping out of the way. While Gaston ran past them, the two Sora pulled away gazed to her in confusion as the teen's eyes were focused on the large Heartless.

"He's immune to magic." she whispered silently, making the two blink many times in response.

They then looked back to Gaston as he came to a sliding stop, turned around quickly, and rushed toward the three once more. "Xaldin was casting a spell on him while he was speaking." Sora explained quickly while releasing her friends, to which they all readied themselves once more.

"You actually noticed that? Despite what he said?" Kairi asked as they each separated from one another to give Gaston multiple targets to focus on.

This making him specifically target Kairi first as he slashed at her with one of his clawed hands. However, she flipped over this attack and side jumped to the side in order to gain some distance from him. Meanwhile, Sora rushed to the Heartless' side, summoned her Keyblade and threw it into one of his legs. Her strike causing Gaston to fall to one knee while Zola jumped right up in front of his face and slashed at both eyes.

"Of course. Spending a year with Maleficent and then a week with Yen Sid has made me very observant...even under pressure or stress." the brown-haired girl claimed with a small smirk, yet quickly caught her Keyblade when it came back and jumped out of the way from Gaston's wild slashing attack.

The transformed man had let out a roar of pain from having his eyes cut, to which he began lashing out with his claws in every direction. Though, he soon brought himself back to his feet, and began moving toward the sound of Sora's voice. All the while, he swung both arms at the teen with great strength and speed. There even being strong gusts of wind blowing around him after each slash, which kept the teen on her heels the whole time she dodged.

"I guess that makes sense." Kairi said as her whole body began to glow white, this power slowly being focused into her staff.

However, her voice quickly drew Gaston's attention and made him to turn his feral attacks toward her. "But speaking of that...are you sure you're feeling alright after all that time Maleficent was inside your mind? It really sounds like something that would mess someone up." the girl continued, her simply holding out her staff the moment the Heartless came close enough.

This sending a pulse of light into Gaston and knocked him onto his back, to which Zola rushed up to him. The leopard jumping onto the large creature's head just as he was about to get back up, yet she used the force of her leaping away to slam his head back into the ground. Zola even let out a light roar as if agreeing with Kairi's words, which just made Sora huff and pout.

"Oh come on guys, Maleficent isn't actually 'that' bad. Sure she might be evil, but it wouldn't actually take very much to make her work together with us." the brown-haired girl claimed, her being ten meters in the air over Gaston when speaking.

Sora then stabbed her Keyblade into the Heartless' stomach when falling back to the ground. "She's almost like a mean Aunt whom might not be a nice person, but still loves you enough to help you out of trouble." Sora continued, her sounding like she wasn't even paying attention to the fight.

Yet when the creature tried to move, a burst of light surged from the teen's weapon and into Gaston. This causing a huge amount of darkness to instantly explode out from the him and reveal the man's normal form laying on the ground unconscious. The brown-haired teen then looked over to Kairi and Zola, both of whom just seemed to gaze at her almost suspiciously. Something of which made Sora pout once more while going up to her friends; "Aw~! Now you're just being mean~! You told me to be nicer to people, remember?" she claimed while pointing at Kairi in a jokingly accusing manner.

Though said girl continued her expression for a few more moments, she eventually let out a breath and nodded in response. "Alright...I'll accept that. I just hope you don't give her the benefit of the doubt too much." she said softly, her going up to her friend along with Zola.

"Of course...I've definitely grown out of my gullible stage at this point." Sora claimed with a small grin and wink.

This made Kairi smile softly and nod her head, Zola doing the same as she rubbed the side of Sora's leg and let out a purr-like noise. The brown-haired teen smiled back and began petting the top of the leopard's head, to which they then headed back into the castle to tell everyone the good news. Them simply leaving Gaston there until afterward, then they might consider taking him back to the village.

-The Round Room, The World that Never was-

Xaldin appeared and looked up to Xemnas in the highest throne with a nod. "She is now aware of their survival." was all he said as a small smirk could be seen on his features.

"Good. Now that she'll be distracted in searching for those five, we can move forward with our plans. Has Vexen's research been completely decoded?" the tan-skinned man question, his gaze slowly moving toward Xigbar.

Whom nodded his head in response and took on a proud smile; "Yep...we're finally ready to put our plan into action." he answered with a quick thumbs up.

"I assume this means Demyx and I must keep the Keyblade's chosen one occupied for the time being?" Luxord asked as he flipped a grey and white card between his fingers.

"That is correct. So be sure to keep to the plan and don't let her discover anything that is happening here. It's key that she doesn't find out until it's too late." Xemnas ordered, to which each of the other Organization members nodded and vanished in corridors of darkness.

"Not that any of you know the real plan as it is." he muttered to himself with a light chuckle that echoed softly off the round walls.

* * *

 **There you have it, hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It was a bit longer than usual since I wanted to get it all done in one go. Hopefully it didn't feel rushed or anything, but let me know what all of you thought of it and I'll see you in the next one.**

 **Btw, the rewritten chapter for Dark Swamp part II will be out tomorrow.**


	15. Extra

**Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Extra Chapter

Sora sat down with a heavy sigh in Merlin's study along with Kairi, to which Zola jumped into the brown-haired teen's lap. "Well that was an ordeal." she muttered silently to herself as Merlin brought tea to each of the girls.

"Yeah it was." Kairi commented as she and Sora sipped their drinks after thanking the old wizard for them.

"So...what no-" Sora began, yet was immediately cut off as the door was suddenly kicked open and a man wearing a tight red and black suit came inside.

"Ho ho ho! It's Santa Deadpool wishing you a merry one hundredth chapter for all the parts of the story~!" he called out while placing a Santa Claus hat over his mask-covered head.

This sudden intrusion made everyone just stare at him blankly in both shock and confusion. "Hey~, why the glum looks? This is a celebration! Lets get this party started~!" Deadpool called out as he pulled a party horn from his pocket and blew on the mouth piece.

His action causing a bunch of confetti to fall from the ceiling, some celebratory music to start playing and even for disco lights to start shining. "We reached one hundred chapters with this one, so it's reason enough to celebrate~!" he announced over the music, to which he came over to the group and started dancing.

"Um...it's not Christmas." Sora commented with blinking eyes at this masked man, the music stopping suddenly with a record scratch noise.

"It is if the readers are reading it on Christmas~." Deadpool replied in a sing-song voice, to which the music started back up again along with his dancing.

After this words however, everyone merely blinked a few times in response as if he was speaking a different language. "So...uh...who are you exactly?" Kairi asked, her tone showing that she was utterly lost in what was happening at this point.

"I told you, I'm Santa Deadpool~!" the man called out while giving a thumbs up, however, the music quickly stopped once more.

"A thumbs up? Really? Since when do I make poses that would look bad if 1960's Superman did them?" he demanded to no one.

"'No one' my $$!" he continued, obviously raving like a lunatic.

"Raving...yes...lunatic...yes, but you best not censor me like this you little $#!t."

"Oh you mother&% $er! I'm gonna a #$%^&$# #$ ^ $$!$^# and %& #!%&*())*%# !%) then I'll $^%# $*(*^$ !##^$ so you'll have to *^(# ^$*%# !^(_(% after $##$&*(+!#^ up your &(%$^# %^^*(*^$#&$# ! You prick." Deadpool finally finished, to which he slapped himself across the face.

"Ow! That hurt you son of a #* &%!" he claimed in huff, yet soon turned to the others as they were simply looking at him in utter confusion.

"Well...anyway, it's time to make the chimichangas and keep this party going~!" Deadpool called out with a wave.

"Happy 100th Chapter everyone~! And here's to many more...hopefully featuring me sooner rather than later~!" he finished as his tone made it obvious he was grinning from under his mask.

Yet Sora suddenly snapped awake with blinking eyes as she looked around the gummi ship. Kairi piloting it as Zola was taking a nap withing the brown-haired teen's lap, to which she stroked the top of the cat's head. "What a weird dream." she muttered silently to herself.

"Hmm? What about?" the other teen questioned while briefly glancing to her friend.

After her inquiry, Sora just blinked a few times and scratched the side of her head. "You know...I can't really remember anymore...something about chimichangas or something." she muttered, to which Kairi simply blinked a few times.

"That does sound weird." was all the auburn-haired girl comment as she and Sora giggled softly.

* * *

 **The real one hundredth chapter is actually the next one, but I wanted to thank all of you just the same. So thanks to all whom have read, favorited, alerted and reviewed for this story. I appreciate the support, and I hope to continue entertaining all of you for many more chapters and stories to come.**


	16. Land of Dragons part I

**This is the real one hundredth chapter, so I hope all of you enjoy.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 15: Land of Dragons part I

Sora and Kairi appeared in the midst of what appeared to be a forest of bamboo trees, via a beam of light from the sky. The pair glancing around the area as the air felt pleasantly warm and held a fresh wood-like scent, with a hint of lime and mint. Though as they slowly turned to each other, neither one of them knew which way to go as the gummi ship seemed to take them to this world on its own. Of which Yen Sid mentioned would happen due to his interference, yet he also said he would give a forewarning beforehand.

But neither of them questioned this aloud while they slowly moved through the forest in order to find any sign of civilization. However, they immediately stopped when they heard what sounded like a large group of people calling out 'Hiya' in near unison. This made Sora and Kairi blink to one another before slowly following this noise. Which turned out to be multiple lines of men in a field, each of them moving in a very non-harmonious manner.

They appeared to be trying to practice some sort of karate moves with wooden staffs, yet they didn't appear very good. Save for one man, whom was at the front of the large group and held a very smooth and well honed technique. Despite this, none of the others seemed to be able to keep up and even fell or hit each other on accident. While they continued, Sora and Kairi moved closer and closer until they reached the edge of the forest and could make out each of their faces.

It being at this point that they noticed one specific person in the very center of everyone else. Them having the same black hair tied up in a bun like the others, but what set them apart was their strangely feminine features. Their face seemed very close to that of a girl's, while even their hands matched this appearance. Upon seeing this, Sora and Kairi glanced to one another before sharing a nod of mutual understanding of what was going on.

Yet the two quickly turned back to the group and ducked down into the forest when the lead man spoke out. "That's enough! Take a few moments to rest and then we'll start again in ten minutes! I hope that will be enough time for all of you to understand what it was you were doing wrong!" he called in a very authoritative tone.

Immediately following his words, the large group just collapsed onto the ground with a heavy groan of exhaustion. Meanwhile, the lead man started walking away with a groan of his own, but his seemed more out of frustration than anything else.

"Looks like we've stumbled across a training camp of some sort." Sora muttered softly while she and Kairi remained hidden among the thick forest of bamboo.

"Guess so...but what do we do?" the auburn-haired girl questioned with a raised brow.

"Well, we should check to make sure if there are any Heartless problems...as well as see if any of the revived Organization members are here...and then find the Keyhole." was the other teen's response, her sounding rather confident.

"Uh-huh...so what about Beast's and Belle's world? We never found the Keyhole there." Kairi asked as she simply crossed her arms and raised a suspicious brow.

Sora blinked to this a few times before looking to the side as if embarrassed; "W-Well...we did look for it, s-so there is just no helping it if we couldn't find it right away." she responded almost too quickly, making her friend seem all the more suspicious.

"Right~, and it certainly has nothing to do with the fact that you're in such a hurry to find them that the Keyhole simply slipped your mind, huh?" the auburn-haired girl more of stated than questioned, yet her tone was now a teasing one.

This making Sora pout in response and even huff lightly; "Oh alright...you got me. But we'll be going back to visit soon anyway...we promised Belle and Beast that we'd be there for the whole dance thing Lumiere set up for them after all." she said as her pout slowly faded from her features.

"Fair enough..." Kairi began as she glanced out to the men currently laying on the grassy ground; "..so how should we start?" she asked softly while turning back to her friend.

"I mean...you mentioned that this must be some sort of camp, and taking into account of how it's set up...I'd say this is a military camp." the girl continued, her gaining a rather thoughtful expression.

"I figured that too, so I'd say that these are new recruits for the Chinese army." Sora suggested, to which Kairi nodded slowly in agreement as she looked at the group of men once more.

"Makes sense...but doesn't that mean we really shouldn't get involved with this? We can't exactly go around picking sides in a war." the auburn-haired girl stated, yet her tone showed how she still wished to help in some way.

"Maybe...but we still have to get information about recent events, and they might be able to help us with that. Besides...their enemies might be using the Heartless." the other teen said with a shrug of her shoulders, which made Kairi return this gesture in response.

"I won't say that it's impossible...but I don't think things are 'that' convenient." she commented as Sora merely grinned softly to her.

"Sometimes they are." the brown-haired girl said while giving her friend a wink.

Yet they instantly turned to the field once more when the men suddenly began shouting about monsters. Once the pair looked out to the plains, they saw a series of Heartless that seemed much different than usual. Some of them appeared like centaurs, while others seemed to resemble floating magic casters. This lead for the two teens to immediately rush out from the cover of the forest and stand off against the Heartless. Of which were surrounding the men, whom were gripping their training staffs tightly as if they would try to fight the creatures off.

But they didn't even get the chance as Sora and Kairi used a combined Thundaga spell to destroy half of the Heartless in mere seconds. "Run for cover!" the former of the two called out, to which the group of men didn't bother needing a second warning as they started running toward the camp nearby.

However, one person remained as they seemed to be frozen in place from utter shock and fear. Them being the one whom appeared more feminine than the rest, to which one of the centaur Heartless immediately targeted them. This creature summoning a long spear into their hand before thrusting it toward the person all but cowering on the ground. Yet before the attack could hit, the brown-haired teen jumped in the way and blocked the blade with her own weapon.

The air pressure from this strike blowing Sora's hair back, even as the rest of her didn't budge in the slightest. "You know...I read that it was against the law for a woman to join the Imperial army in China." Sora whispered as she slowly glanced back toward the person behind her.

Them looking at her with widened eyes of shock, but this made it all the more obvious that they were in fact a teen girl. "How did you...?" she started with a somewhat confused and nervous tone.

"Well...you do seem very feminine to the normal eye, but we're also fellow girls. So that helps a bit." Kairi commented while coming up to the girl and helping her up.

Meanwhile, Sora jerked her weapon to the side, causing the Heartless' spear pushing against it to go flying in the same direction. Immediately following this, the brown-haired teen slashed her Keyblade the opposite way and created an arch of white energy that destroyed the Heartless. Though, as the rest of the creatures moved to attack, they suddenly stopped when Sora snapped her fingers. Her action summoning a pair of Neo-Shadow Heartless from her own shadow; "Go get them." she whispered with a small smirk.

Within seconds, the two creatures of darkness moved through the field at great speed and defeated the remaining Heartless with only a single slash for each. They then moved back to the teen and sunk back into her shadow as it briefly turned darker in shade. Sora then turned to Kairi with a small grin, yet said girl was frowning slightly as she crossed her arms. "What? They need the exercise." the brown-haired girl said quickly as her grin turned sheepish.

"Uh-huh...and what happened to that whole promise you made with Master Yen Sid that you would keep your summoning of Heartless to a minimum?" Kairi questioned in a firm voice.

All the while, the raven-haired teen simply blinked many times to the two girls. Them seeming completely foreign as not only were they dressed in a strange way, but they also had powers that she had only seen a few times. Each of which had been in more recent days, as things had gotten very intense in her country as of late.

"W-Well...it's not like I brought out Behemoth or anything." Sora said, her tone sounding very sheepish as she scratched the back of her neck.

"Whom you definitely shouldn't for any reason other than for something very serious." the auburn-haired teen claimed with a heavy sigh.

However, they were brought out of their banter as the other girl cleared her throat and even raised a hand. "Um...I don't mean to intrude...but who are you two?" she asked softly and somewhat timidly.

"Oh, sorry about that" Sora started with a small smile, to which she gestured to herself and Kairi while introducing them to her.

"I'm Sora and this is my friend Kairi." the brown-haired girl said as her smile widened slightly.

"Nice to meet you...and thanks for saving us." the teen responded with a quick nod in greeting to the pair.

"Oh...and my name is Mulan..I-I mean, Ping." she continued, her briefly stumbling with her name as if she wasn't quite used to introducing herself with it.

However, Kairi simply smiled and waved a hand to Mulan; "It's alright, we'll make sure to call you 'Ping' around everyone else." she reassured as the raven-haired teen gave a small smile of her own.

"Thank you, but I'm not sure you two should stick around. Once the Captain comes back, he'll probably tell you both to leave anyway. Women aren't allowed in the Chinese army like you said." Mulan stated while glancing toward Sora with her last few words.

But said teen just tilted her head up in thought before slowly grinning; "Then we'll just have to blend in like you." was all she said before winking and holding her hand up.

A brief flash of light shined from it and seemed to form around both Sora and Kairi. Yet as it slowly died down, it revealed them in men's clothing. Sora having a similar outfit as normal, but it was much baggier in order to make her chest look less pronounced. Along with this, she now sported a pair of long baggy shorts that reached a few inches over her knees. Kairi's however was much different as she now had a baggy red and purple jacket, it having short sleeves that held white edges. She also wore a white undershirt and pair of red pants with purple and black lines running down the sides.

Mulan blinked to this many times as she didn't appear to understand what was going on anymore. All the while, Kairi glanced herself over with a raised brow and a slightly disappointed gaze. "Is this really something boys wear?" she asks silently with a near groan.

"From what I've seen...yeah." was Sora's shrugging response, to which she then tucked her long hair inside of her hood.

She then placed the hood itself over her head and gestured for Kairi to do the same. "But don't worry...it's only temporary." the brown-haired girl continued with a quick wink as once the pair had their hoods up, they could indeed pass for men...at least as well as Mulan.

"Wait...so you intend for us to get involved in this whole war?" Kairi asked while raising a brow in slight suspicion.

"Well we can't just sit around waiting for something to happen, we have to try and find out what's going on. And the best way to do that right now is to join this army." Sora answered easily, her giving Kairi a wink and small grin afterward.

Though the auburn-haired girl gazed to her friend for a few moments, she let out a heavy breath and nodded slowly. "Alright...fair enough." she began before turning to Mulan with a friendly smile.

"So how do we join?" Kairi finished softly as she and Sora gazed to a somewhat confused Mulan.

"Well...um...you probably need to have documents with your family name since one man from each family must serve in the army." was the girl's response, yet she and the other two quickly turned to the Captain as his voice was heard not far away.

"That won't be necessary." he claimed while coming closer to the trio.

Despite his expression being stern, it was clear from his gaze that he didn't know about their true gender. Him having seen the pair after they changed clothes, as well as came into earshot immediately following Kairi's question of joining the army. He then came up to the two with an examining gaze before nodding slowly. "I am Captain Shang, and I welcome you both into my troop. All of the men saw you defeat those creatures, so it's more than enough proof to me that you're capable of helping our war against Shan Yu and his army of those things." he claimed, to which both the teens just glanced to one another.

Sora seeming a bit smug as Kairi simply huffed to her and turned back to the Captain. "Well...we're glad to help, I'm Kairi and this is Sora." the auburn-haired girl introduced with a small smile.

"It's nice to meet you both, I hope that your inclusion to my troops will motivate the men to work harder." Shang said, him giving a glance from Mulan, to the group of men as they returned to the field.

Sora simply smirked to this before giving a thumbs up to the man; "Have no fear Captain...Kairi and I will help turn this whole thing around. And we'll started by helping you whip these troops into shape so you'll be the best in the whole army." she claimed confidently, which earned a nod from Shang.

"I'm glad to hear it, now then...lets see what you two can do." the captain said with a gesture to the pair.

* * *

 **And there you have it, Sora and Kairi have joined the Chinese army. Get ready for some interesting progressions both for the story and for...other things. ;) Anyway, let me know what all of you thought and until the next one everyone.**

 **P.S: If you're wondering where Zola is, she's sleeping in the gummi ship. I couldn't figure out a smooth way for a character to say that, so I'll just say it here.**

 **P.P.S: The remake of Dark Swamp part III will be up tomorrow. I think that's what I'll do from now on, I'll post this on Saturdays and the remakes on Sundays.**


	17. Land of Dragons part II

**Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 16: Land of Dragons part II

"And this is the food tent where we all line up to get our food each morning, afternoon and night." Mulan said silently while gesturing to a specific tent where a single man was boiling a large pot of rice.

The raven-haired girl having been asked to show the new recruits around the camp after they easily proved themselves to the Captain. Though, as they walked, Sora glanced over to a tall wooden pole in the center of the campsite. There being an arrow sticking out the top of this, yet with its guiding feathers missing, it was obvious that the arrow had been up there for at least a few days. "Hey Ping...what's that all about?" she questioned, to which Mulan turned toward her with blinking eyes.

However, her expression quickly turned to one of intimidation as she gazed up at the arrow. The girl's eyes looking at the arrow as if it was hundreds of meters higher than it really was. "That was our first test." Mulan started with a heavy sigh.

"We were supposed to retrieve the arrow while also carrying those weights with us." she continued, her pointing to two golden-colored weights at the foot of the pole.

"Oh really?" Sora muttered as she looked from the weights, to the arrow and then back to Mulan.

"Did he actually say to carry them?" she questioned while crossing her arms over her chest so that they wouldn't show while doing so.

Despite the raven-haired teen opening her mouth to answer, she soon closed it and tilted her head up in thought. "Actually...no. He simply said that we would 'need' both of them to reach the arrow." was her answer after a few seconds of silence.

This merely made Sora smirk and nod her head in response; "Well...the army always need people whom are physically strong...but also those smart enough to think outside the box." she whispered to herself, yet it was loud enough for both Mulan and Kairi to hear.

The latter of whom slowly nodded her head as she also understood the 'trick' to reaching the arrow. However, the former still appeared to be confused about this, to which she just blinked many times in question. Upon seeing this, Sora gave a smile and waved a hand to the girl; "Just give it a bit of thought and I have no doubt you'll figure it out in no time."

Mulan tilted her head to the side slightly in curiosity, but eventually nodded slowly. The brown-haired girl smiled a bit wider and gestured for the teen to continue her tour of the camp. Of which she did for a few more minutes before leading the two to her own tent a few meters away from everyone else's. "Before we set up your tents...there is someone I think I should introduce you to. He probably already saw you during our training when you both showed up, but I think now is a good time for him to meet you properly." she said in a whisper, Mulan then moving the cloth of her tent's opening to the side.

At which point, Sora and Kairi saw a small and slender creature. It having the appearance of a red Chinese dragon with blue horns, a gold mustache, and yellow under belly. The short dragon also had black eyes, while its claws, nose, tail tuft and back spikes all shared the same dark red color. Despite standing on its hind legs, the dragon still only reached about forty-seven centimeters in height. "Hi Mushu, I brought visitors." Mulan whispered as the dragon quickly turned toward the three teens.

Yet he immediately froze in place as if trying to pretend that he was just a statue or such. This making the raven-haired girl smile lightly and clear her throat; "It's alright, they already know I'm a girl. And that you're alive." she said with a now sheepish appearing smile along with a brief shrug.

"Well...we're also girls, so we're all kind of in the same boat." Sora muttered, to which Mushu seemed to 'unfreeze' and look to the teens with a groan.

"You can't be scaring me like that girl. Though, you sure you ought to be showing me off to them? Not for nothin', but us family guardians are usually only supposed to be seen by those...you know...in the family." the dragon claimed in an obviously male voice, yet he also seemed somewhat sassy.

"A 'family guardian'?" Kairi echoed silently while blinking her eyes a few times.

"Yes...he's one of the few Fa family guardians, a group of animal themed creatures whom protect the members of my family whenever we're in need of them." Mulan explained as she gestured toward Mushu, him obvious having explained this to her before.

The dragon them puffed his chest out in a proud way, yet he quickly deflated when Sora said her next words. "So your ancestors sent him to help you fight in a war? He's a bit small for that don't you think?"

"Who're ya callin' 'small'?! Imma convenient size! And...I've got plenty of fire power to make up for it!" he declared, him blowing out a tiny burst of fire that quickly disappeared.

Though the brown-haired girl raised a brow in response, she just shrugged her shoulders. "Well...whatever the case, I'm Sora and this is Kairi." she introduced while gesturing between herself and her friend.

Whom had given a nod in greeting to the small dragon; "Nice to meet you, Mushu." she said softly.

"Likewise...so what are you two doing here anyway? You don't look like you're from China." Mushu questioned, him crossing both arms and raising his own brow slightly.

"It's kind of a long story, but...we're here to help win this war and accomplish a mission of our own along the way." Kairi answered as she gave a small smile over to Sora.

Said teen nodding in agreement to this, to which she then looked over to Mulan. "Actually, I meant to ask about you're here for as well. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't risk breaking the law if it wasn't for something important." she asked while slowly tilting her head to the side slightly.

"I came here...to preserve the Fa family honor." Mulan began, yet gradually tilted her head down.

"But more than that, I'm here to protect my father from fighting in another war. He was wounded too greatly during the previous one, so if he was to fight again...there is no doubt that he wouldn't be coming back home. So I'm here to fight, so my father doesn't have to." the raven-haired girl continued in a whisper, her very clearly having great determination in this mission.

After hearing these words and seeing the fire in the girl's eyes, both Sora and Kairi looked to one another briefly. Them sharing a quick smile before placing a hand upon either of Mulan's shoulders. The raven-haired teen looked from one girl to the other with a blinking gaze. "Then we'll make sure to help you do exactly that." the auburn-haired girl claimed as she had an equal amount of conviction as Mulan herself.

"And we'll definitely make sure you return home safely." Sora added with a soft smile on her features; "I promise."

Mulan blinked many more times to the pair before she slowly gained a smile of her own. "Thank you...both of you." she said silently, her being quite happy to have the pair's help.

"If that's the case...then I have an idea of how we can get our girl up to 'war hero' rank!" Mushu declared as he suddenly seemed completely on-board with having the two around.

Sora raised a brow in response to him while tilting her head to the side curiously; "And what's that?"

"Well...Mulan here has been in this place for about a week now, and none of the troops have made much progress. And since those creatures keep attackin' at random times each day, they have to cancel trainin' more often than not. But durin' the attack yesterday, I saw some suspicious dudes in the bamboo forest. So I'm willin' to bet that the guys behind all this are those guys." the red dragon explained while gesturing toward the forest when mentioning it.

"Why didn't you say something this morning?" Mulan asked with blinking eyes as she leaned toward him slightly.

"Cause you don't know how to fight yet girl. We can't have you goin' out and fightin' some big bads before you can even swing a sword right." Mushu answered, to which each of the teens just nodded their heads in agreement and understanding.

"But after seein' what these two can do, I bet that they'll be able to help you take them down no sweat!" he continued, him fist-pumping the air with one of his clawed hands.

Kairi blinked a few times to this, yet she soon turned to Sora as the girl was looking down in deep thought. "Do you think it might be the Organization?" she asked silently, making Mushu and Mulan turn to her with a confused expression.

"More than likely." Sora began as she shifted her gaze toward the others.

"But more than that...I think I have an idea to not only have Mulan be the one to take them down, but to also get all of the troops motivated to do better." the brown-haired girl claimed while a small grin curled her lips.

"We're going to win this whole war in a few short days if everything goes according to plan." she finished, causing the others to blink many times in intrigue as to what her idea was.

"Feel like sharing?" Kairi asked with a curious tilt of her head to the side.

"All in good time, but for now..." Sora started again while giving a quick wink to her friend before turning to Mulan; "...you have an arrow to get."

Meanwhile, on the peak of a tall mountain, Xigbar stood across from several men with somewhat rugged appearances. The one in the middle however, seemed to be the leader from how he was the closest to the Organization member.

This person had a very large and muscular build with a sharp nose, and a prominent forehead. He also had a thin, horseshoe-style mustache, while his pale grey skin made a contrast to his yellow eyes and black sclera. Though he appeared to be half bald, he still had long black hair around it. His attire consisted of a black and cream colored tunic, which held a fluffy gray pelt scarf with timber-wolf stripes as a hood. Lastly were his gray trousers, black boots and similarly colored glove on his left hand.

"So...how are you likin' your new army?" Xigbar questioned with a small and confident smirk.

"What took so long for you to make it? My men have been waiting for months to be transformed!" the man countered in a rather angry tone.

"I've had to put my attacks on hold this whole time, so you better hope that it was worth the wait!" he continued firmly while turning around, to which millions upon millions of Heartless rose up from the snow.

"We had to put a lot of things on hold due to a few...interferences, but trust me...this army of yours will be everything you hoped for and more." Xigbar answered, his tone seeming slightly ominous.

Something of which none of the other men noticed as they were too busy smirking at their army's huge numbers. "Well...good luck, Shan Yu. And remember our deal." he continued before disappearing in a corridor of darkness.

Shan Yu himself simply chuckled while barely even paying attention to the man's leave; "As if the deal matters...it was always my intention of turning every last person in China into a Heartless. Their vast numbers will be fuel to my army, and then...the world will be mine!" Shan Yu declared as he raised a hand that slowly clenched into a fist at the end.

* * *

 **There you have it, no bathing scene yet...but it's coming. ;D Btw, to give credit where it's due, Zweig was the one who inspired me to include the idea the manga had in Shan Yu working with the Organization to turn his army into Heartless. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoy and let me know what you thought. Until next time everyone.**

 **P.S: The next part I'll be redoing is India Wilderness, so stay tuned for that tomorrow.**


	18. Land of Dragons part III

**Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 17: Land of Dragons part III

Sora clapped her hands slowly to a one second rhythm, to which the army recruits swung their training staffs from one side to the other. Each of them being in nearly perfect unison as the teen continued to clap. Her standing at the front of the group with Shang just to the side as he watched all of this, his expression appearing very satisfied.

"Most impressive Sora. You have turned my entire troop around in just three days, you have a true knack for commanding." the captain complimented, to which the brown-haired girl simply smiled sheepishly.

"Oh come on...I didn't do all that much. Plus, Kairi and Ping helped me out a lot." she responded quickly as she almost missed a beat with her clapping.

"Indeed." Shang said while looking to Kairi, whom was helping to cook in one of the larger tents.

Though, he soon shifted his gaze toward Mulan within the group of training recruits. "But that Ping is a strange one." he muttered silently, to which he turned toward Sora once more.

"How is it that you managed to make him so strong and capable in such a short amount of time? He's become entire leagues above what he was before." the captain questioned, him crossing both arms after his words.

Sora blinked to the man briefly, yet she just turned her gaze back to the recruits while keeping up her rhythm of claps. "He had a lot of potential to begin with, I just helped him to bring it out with some special training." she answered in an honest tone, but also hid a sweat drop while looking to the side.

'So I say...but in truth, I gifted her with some of my magic to help enhance her latent abilities and even to allow her to use magic as well. And with this making the third day, it's no wonder of why she's suddenly so much stronger than everyone else. She's probably the most powerful person in this world now.' the teen thought to herself while groaning.

'Aw man...Yen Sid is really gonna be mad at me now.' she continued with a light sweat drop as she didn't even realize that she had slowly stopped clapping.

'Oh well...it's sometimes better to ask for forgiveness than permission.' Sora finished in her mind, to which she then looked to the group with a small smirk.

"Alright! That's it for today! Go get yourselves something to eat!" she called out before turning to the Captain.

"I assume our training can start now?" the teen questioned, her crossing both arms as she gazed to him.

Shang slowly nodded his head in response before leading the girl to the side of the camp. "I'm rather surprised that you only requested to be trained in martial arts in exchange for everything you've done. And even your friend Kairi, simply asked that your and his tents were closer to the bamboo forest." the man said silently as the pair faced one another while standing a few meters apart.

"Yeah...sorry if that was a bit of an inconvenience, we simply like our privacy. We're not exactly soldiers or anything." Sora claimed with a shrug of her shoulders, to which she then moved into a fighting pose along with Shang.

Whom shook his head as the two narrowed their eyes onto one another; "It was no trouble at all. The benefits you've both given us far outweigh any small complaints such as those." he said, yet immediately went silent afterward.

The pair simply stared at each other as if waiting for one of them to make the first move in their spar. Yet, as Shang came moving toward the teen, Sora herself tensed up briefly. 'Gentle...be extremely gentle.' she mused as if to focus her mind and body to obey these thoughts.

Once the Captain was close to her, the girl moved out of the way from his swift palm toward her gut. This lead for Sora to then swing her own palm strike to Shang's ribs, but it was clear from her posture that it was a much weaker attack than a normal one. However, whether it was due to this carefulness or the man's experience, he dodged out of the way from the girl's assault. Immediately following this, the Captain used his momentum to spin a roundhouse kick at the teen's head.

Sora's eyes narrowed slightly as her and Shang's eyes never left each others, to which she bent backward just enough to dodge out of the way of his foot. As soon as he finished his spin, the two returned into a fighting pose and remained that way for a few seconds. "Well done." the man stated before they both relaxed and took on a more casual demeanor.

"You have managed to keep your posture while both dodging and attacking. It's a huge improvement over how you merely flailed around when doing either at the very beginning." Shang continued, him giving the teen a slow nod of his head in both acceptance and pride.

Though Sora gave a small smile in response, she had to hide a slight grimace to his phrasing. 'Did I really 'flail around'?' she questioned inwardly before clearing her throat briefly.

"Alright, so are we going to continue with the Snake form? Or will we move onto the Tiger form?" the brown-haired girl asked, her tone seeming quite excited about the possibility of it being the latter form.

"Well...I suppose we can move on. While I'll only be able to give you a small glimpse of each form with our training, I'll make sure to give you several scrolls for the main styles. That way you may continue training at your own pace." Shang answered, making Sora simply nod her head quickly in obvious excitement.

"Alright...here we go." he continued as Sora moved to his side, to which they both shifted their bodies into mirroring fighting poses.

Meanwhile, Kairi watched this from within the bamboo forest as she let the cook handle actually feeding the troops. But directly next to her came Zola as she glanced up to the auburn-haired teen with a silent meow. The leopard having been brought down from the Gummi ship during the first night, to which the teens made sure to keep her hidden. Them not wanting to risk her safety among a bunch of 'on edge' army recruits.

"She's always so eager to learn new things, huh Zola?" Kairi asked with a small smile, her looking down to the large cat as she let out another meow.

The girl smiled a bit wider to this, to which they both gaze out toward Sora while Shang helped her to learn more about the Tiger style of Kung Fu. "Lets just hope it's not always about simply getting stronger." Kairi whispered softly, which lead for Zola to gaze up to her once more with a curious tilt of her head to the side.

Though, the auburn-haired teen simply shook her head to the cat as if to dismiss her previous words. This lead for the pair to just watch the other two until they finished Sora's training, at which point said girl joined her friend in the bamboo forest and Shang returned to camp. "Whew...that was tough, yet fun." Sora claimed with a signature grin on her features.

Kairi raised a brow briefly, yet gave a soft smile and shrug of her shoulders in response. "If you say so...I'm still not sure why you want to learn Kung Fu. And all of the styles at that. I'm pretty sure mastering even one form takes years." the auburn-haired girl stated, to which Zola meowed softly as if in agreement.

Sora glanced between them and shrugged; "Maybe so...but I've always liked Kung Fu movies." she claimed while taking on a fighting pose in an almost over exaggerated manner.

"They're so cool~!" the teen continued in a nearly singing voice as she threw punches at the air, making her friend just chuckle lightly.

"So I remember, but aren't you going a bit overboard?" Kairi questioned, her raising a brow slightly to Sora.

Whom just blinked a few times with a curious tilt of her head to the side; "How so?" she asked, moving back into a normal position.

"Well...you've been learning about Fourth Tier magic and the power of Light from Master Yen Sid, plus all your training with your Darkness. It just seems like you're taking on more than you can handle with trying to learn all the styles of Kung Fu atop of everything else." the auburn-haired girl responded while shrugging her shoulders once more.

Despite Sora blinking a few times, she slowly took on a grin once more and waved a hand. "Not at all~. It's just for fun mostly, but it's also helping to improve my ability to save people." she claimed, her making a thumbs up gesture afterwards.

Kairi sighed heavily in response to this, yet she slowly nodded to show her understanding. "Alright, fair enough." she whispered, though there was a hint of something else that even Sora couldn't identify.

All the while, Zola moved over to the brown-haired teen's side and quickly began nudging her. "Aw, don't worry...we'll make sure to practice our tag-team moves as well. We just have to wait till we get the free time, alright?" she asked with a small smile to her feline friend.

Whom had let out a meow as Sora leaned down and began to scratch behind the large cat's ears. "We'll go and visit Phil after we've finished up here. I'm sure he'll have loads of training for us to do and then we'll have tons of time to spend together~." the brown-haired girl sang out happily as she glanced between Zola and Kairi, her referring to them both with these words.

The latter of the two gave Sora a small smile and nod, while the former let out a meow of excitement. Though the three quickly turned to the camp as Shang called out for all the troops to gather. "Oh boy...sounds like another reconnaissance mission." Sora muttered silently, her sweat dropping briefly as no one typically enjoyed going on such assignments.

This being due to the fact that they would require those on said mission to camp out over night. Sora and Mulan having gone on such a mission the first night the former was there, upon the latter's request. Despite this being how they managed to train one-on-one, it was still an exhausting experience since they got lost multiple times. Them being ordered to return an hour after dawn the next day, yet they didn't find their way back till after noon. Of which left Kairi to help the troops all on her own for most of that first day, yet she managed quite well with her firm attitude.

"The next recon mission will be near the lake to the south. I will need two volunteers." Shang announced while looking over a map.

Said parchment having markings in specific spots that showed which areas had been surveyed and which hadn't. As Sora and Kairi came closer, Zola remained back in the forest, albeit somewhat reluctantly. The leopard not liking the fact that she had to stay hidden and couldn't be part of the action. But as the two teens approached the group, they saw Mulan quickly raising her hand to volunteer for the mission. This making them blink a few times as Shang nodded his head to 'Ping', to which he marked her down on the scroll as one of the people taking the assignment.

"Anyone else?" the Captain called out, him glancing around the area to see whom else would raise their hand.

Sora blinked toward Mulan a few times before sighing and raising a hand; "I'll go...I guess." she muttered with an even heavier sigh.

Shang nodded to this as he then wrote in the brown-haired teen's name as well; "Excellent. Be back an hour after dawn...we'll be marching to the town at the mountain's summit tomorrow evening. We're going to be joining with my father in his battle against the Hun army the very next day...so be prepared." he half warned, half ordered.

It now being apparent from his expression that he likely told 'Ping' to volunteer so that Sora would as well. Him wanting the brown-haired girl to train his best soldier a bit more just before the big fight so that they would be even more ready to take on their enemy. Upon realizing this, Sora just huffed lightly and held back the urge to pout.

"Well...at least you'll get to bathe in the lake instead of the stream again." Kairi whispered with a shrug while gesturing to the side as there was indeed a large stream that they usually took turns bathing in each night.

"Alright, you got a point." Sora muttered with a shrug of her shoulders, to which she then glanced over to Mulan.

Said teen giving her a nod and small smile, yet it just made the brown-haired girl slowly blush as she realized they might actually be bathing together. Yet she shook her head of this thought as she didn't think it would really happen. But it was in fact something that they found themselves doing four hours later in the lake, where they had just finished fighting Heartless near only thirty minutes ago. Had it not been for the fact that they were facing away from one another, the moonlight would be giving all the light they needed to see one another naked in the water.

During the time they spent soaking their previously sweaty bodies however, the brown-haired teen kept repeating a single phrase in her mind over and over. 'Don't look, it's cheating on Kairi.'

Yet as the minutes passed by with nearly complete silence between them, Mulan cleared her throat softly. This still causing Sora to almost jump and yelp at the sudden break of silence. "So...um...thanks for all your help." the other girl said as she glanced to Sora from over her shoulder.

Said teen's long hair being spread out almost all around her, which blocked nearly all view of her mildly tan skin. "I know I've thanked you multiple times for everything you've done for me, but really...I can't thank you enough for your help with all this." Mulan continued silently, slowly shifting her head to face forward once more.

"I-It's no problem at all. I was more than happy to help you, we're friends after all...right?" Sora responded in her usual happy tone.

However, the expression upon the girl's features was one of comedic panic as even her tan skin couldn't mask the deep blush spreading across both cheeks. 'Oh man...I didn't even think about what I would do if we actually did end up bathing together. I was all cool until we actually got into the water, then I just froze up and now I can't even move or think.' she mused to herself in an inner tone to match her facial features.

'I'm trying not to look...I'm trying not to cheat on Kairi. But I'm gonna end up 'seeing' no matter what...so...maybe just one peek won't hurt.' the girl continued as she slowly turned her head to look back.

Though, she immediately stopped herself and faced forward again with a deep gulp; 'But what if she doesn't swing that way? What if I offend her by looking? How could I ever face Kairi again~?' she all but whined inwardly, her closing both eyes tightly.

Meanwhile, Mulan just gazed to the back of Sora's head as there almost appeared to be steam radiating from it. "Um...are you okay?" the raven-haired girl asked quietly as if not wanting to startle the other teen.

Whom had just went silent all over again for a few moments, to which she ended up finally yelping silently when Mulan spoke up. "Y-Yeah...I'm fine...je vais bien...sto bene...es geht mir gut!" Sora all but screamed out by the end, which signaled very clearly that she indeed wasn't okay.

"Um...is there something you want to talk abo-" the raven-haired teen began, yet was cut off as a sudden eruption of water blasted up from the middle of the lake.

This drew the pair's attention immediately as they stood up out of the water and gazed to the Heartless that emerged from the water. It having the appearance of a sea serpent with it's dark blue scaly skin, deep green sail on its back and a large misshaped jaw. Of which held a few, yet very sharp, light blue teeth that curved slightly near the tips.

However, after the shock of this had settled and the two rushed to shore to get their clothes, Sora almost fainted when seeing Mulan's nude body in the moon light. 'This might be my greatest fight yet.' she thought to herself, but it was very clear she wasn't talking about the Heartless.

* * *

 **Well, there's the bathing scene. Not overly long, but it had pretty much exactly what I wanted it to. I hope everyone enjoyed it and will let me know what all of you thought. Well...more like all one of you since I've only been getting one person reviewing as of late. Thanks by the way, Antex-The Legendary Zoroark. I don't really know if I'll continue this story much longer since it really doesn't seem like anyone is reading it anymore. I figure it's because it's technically the school season, but it's still a bit disheartening that no one else seems interested. I'll still try my best for the time being, it's just a thought right now. So I'm not ending it just yet...or hopefully ever will until I finish the whole story.  
**


	19. Land of Dragons part IV

**I wanna say a quick thank you to all those whom reviewed last chapter, it was a real eye-opener to just how many of you there are who read and enjoy this story. I greatly appreciate all of your support and I'll try and make sure that I won't feel down about writing anymore. So...no more quitting scares. Lol. Anyway, onto the chapter...I hope all of you enjoy.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 18: Land of Dragons part IV

Deep in the forest surrounding the lake, Xigbar moved closer and closer to the shore with his only visible eye narrowing slightly. Him teleporting from tree branch to tree branch as he seemed to be searching for something, or someone. "I know I felt her power somewhere around here." he muttered silently to himself while briefly gazing up to the full moon in the night sky.

The surrounding stars all but creating a swirl around the large off-white orb as it slowly made its way from one side of the horizon, to the other. The raven-haired man let out a breath while glancing from side-to-side as he continued on his way through the forest. 'Now that she's been separated from everyone, it's as good a time as any to strike.' Xigbar mused silently to himself, to which he finally reached a clearing in the trees.

Upon doing so, he gazed out across the lake in front of him before quickly turning around with a silent; "Whoa..."

The man let out a heavy breath as he rubbed his visible eye and remained standing on the branch, his back facing the water. "Well now I'd just feel bad if I attacked them." he muttered to himself as he caught a very brief glimpse of Sora and Mulan bathing in the water.

Xigbar let out a silent breath while tapping his chin thoughtfully; "Guess if I can't attack directly, I'll just have something else do my dirty work. And since they're in a lake..." he whispered, to which he then raised his right hand out to the side and snapped his fingers.

This action creating a brief aura of darkness around his hand, yet more importantly, it summoned a serpent-like Heartless at the bottom of the lake. Of which then rose up to frighten the teens as they were forced to rush to shore and dry themselves off. All the while, Sora raised a hand out and created a barrier between them and the Heartless as it moved to attack. Yet it's jaws just bounced right off Sora's spell, making the creature let out a roar in frustration and try even harder to get through.

Meanwhile, the teens had finished drying themselves with towels and got dressed, the brown-haired girl having her back turned to Mulan the whole time. It being all she could do to not look at the other teen while they were putting their clothes back on. Once they had however, the pair turned back to the Heartless trying to bite them with its massive jaws. Though, as Sora turned her attention to the creature, her eyes narrowed and slowly examined the shoreline of the entire lake.

'This thing didn't just show up randomly, nor was it already here. Which means that someone saw us and summoned it on purpose.' she thought to herself while continuing to examine the area.

However, the girl's eyes slowly widen as her mouth began to gape open in a mixture of shock and embarrassment. 'Someone...saw...us.' she repeated in her mind, to which she turned to the Heartless when it made one more lunge at them.

At which point, Sora simply allowed her barrier to disappear while stepping directly in front of the serpent's way. Despite Mulan standing to the side, she didn't even bat an eyelash when watching the brown-haired teen hold her Keyblade out in a reverse grip. It being perpendicular to the ground, with the tip pointing down and the teeth directed to her right. The girl's weapon catching onto one of the large teeth of the Heartless, forcing its momentum to halt instantly.

Sora gave a hard gaze to the Heartless as it was still trying to push forward to get the teen in its jaws, but to no avail. Said girl did not even move a centimeter until she turned herself to the left and swung both her Keyblade, and the Heartless in the same direction. Said serpent being flung to the side as if it was made of feathers, yet its impact with the ground gave a more accurate showing of its weight. The creature causing an indent in the ground, as well as blasting water to the sides as half of its body had still been in the lake.

Mulan simply smirked lightly to both this and Sora, her having gotten used to seeing the teen preform such remarkable feats. But instead of staying back, she quickly moved toward the Heartless and slashed her sword toward it, despite being a few meters away. The distance being compensated for when a burst of fire came blasting from her weapon and hit the back of the serpent's head with great force. Which was enough to snap it's elongated dome forward while the creature let out a roar in response.

As it did, the raven-haired girl quickly jumped high into the air while the Heartless rolled itself to the other side and even swung its tail toward where she had previously been standing. Mulan having leapt almost five meters high thanks to her enhanced abilities, to which she gathered a great deal of fire magic in a circle around her. The teen's eyes narrowed slightly on the serpent as it turned its gaze toward her, at which point Mulan sent multiple fire balls toward her opponent.

These raining down from the circle of flames, but nearly all of them missed their target due to it slithering out of the way and back into the water. However, just as Mulan dropped to the ground, the Heartless opened it's large maw and gathered a great amount of dark energy into a sphere. This quickly condensing and was getting ready to be blasted toward the teen, whom gazed at this with very little worry in her eyes.

Her expression being mostly thanks to the fact that Sora made her way to the water's edge and placed her Keyblade into the shallows. Immediately following this, the brown-haired girl cast a powerful Thundaga spell into the entire lake. Which electrocuted everything within it, including the Heartless as it almost comically spasmed around before disappearing in a burst of darkness. Though, as it's crystal-like heart rose into the air, Sora narrowed her eyes upon it while a brief shimmer emanated from her weapon.

This also being seen on the heart itself for a split second before it finally vanished, but the brown-haired teen just sighed silently to herself. "Still isn't working properly." she muttered silently, to which she turned to Mulan as the girl came toward her.

"Well...that was certainly unexpected, huh?" she said with a small smile, it being obvious that she didn't see this as a deliberate attack.

Sora simply nodded her head in response, her gaining a similar expression as the other teen. "Yep." was all she said while looking to the shoreline of the lake once more.

'I guess it's best I don't say anything outright, but someone is definitely there and it's best that I try not to get Mulan involved. She might be powerful...but she's definitely no match for one of the Organization members.' she thought to herself quickly, yet immediately vanished as her eyes widened for a brief second.

The girl reappearing behind Mulan as a series of crystal-like arrows came flying toward her at great speed. Sora blocking or deflecting each of them with her weapon, to which the raven-haired teen turned around in shock. However, the other girl was already gone as she repeated her actions against over a dozen arrows that flew in from almost every direction toward Mulan. All this being too fast for said girl to follow as she could only make out a few glimpses of pink arrows. Which were followed by a streak of black that destroyed the arrows and then moved on to the next set.

"Wha-..." was all she could let out as despite this lasting for only ten seconds, it felt much longer due to her survival instincts kicking into high-gear.

Though, it was when this time was reached that Mulan turned around one more time and saw Sora standing in front of Xigbar a few meters away. Said man holding his sniper weapon, yet as was the brown-haired girl. Her having grabbed the middle of it specifically to make sure he couldn't disconnect the weapon and attack further. Along with this, she was also pointing the 'barrel' up into the air with just enough of an angle that he couldn't aim an arrow at herself or Mulan.

"Well well...glad to see that being asleep for so long hasn't made you slow." the man uttered in an amused tone.

"Oh trust me, you have yet to see how fast I can really go." Sora almost growled out, her voice sounding forcefully controlled.

Of which Xigbar noticed and even chuckling lightly to; "Oh~? Are you still hung up about those five? They're alive now...so what's the big deal?" he asked with a rather amused tone.

This made Sora's pupils turn to slits for a moment, her immediate rage all but taking shape in a brief aura of darkness around her. Yet she then slowly smirked and shrugged her shoulders; "Perhaps...it's just the principle of it." was all she answered back before slashing at him with her Keyblade.

But the man had vanished with his teleportation magic, him leaving his weapon behind as it disappeared soon after. Mulan came up beside the girl and blinked a few times; "Are you alright? Should we go after him?" she asked silently and softly, her having never felt so much hatred from the teen or really anyone in her entire life.

"I'm fine...but going after him wouldn't do us any good, he's long gone by now." Sora answered with a sigh, it being obvious that she was forcefully calming herself down.

Mulan was silent for a moment, yet nodded slowly as she came up directly in front of the other teen. "So...who was that guy? Was he the one Mushu was talking about?"

As Sora gazed back to her, she nodded back with another, yet even heavier sigh. "His name is Xigbar, not a very nice person to be around. And yeah, he probably is one of the people he saw that day. Which means that my and Kairi's assistance here might have to go beyond just defeating the Hun army." she answered, to which the raven-haired girl gave another quick nod.

After this silent concurrence, the pair headed away from the lake and into the forest they traveled through to reach it. Upon doing so, they came up to their camp site, where they already had a small fire burning. Them increasing it to warm themselves up after the cool bath, to which they laid down in their own separate sleeping pads. But while it didn't take Mulan long to fall asleep, Sora was up for many more hours contemplating a great deal.

'Xigbar definitely wasn't just here on accident, or even on a whim. Though he probably felt bad about seeing us bathing...which I'm definitely going to kill him for...his generosity only went as far as to attack us indirectly. But there must have been a reason for seeking us out and initiating a strike.' she mused to herself while gazing up at the stars in the night sky.

'And since Xigbar knows he wouldn't be able to beat me on his own, there must be a specific reason for him being out here. Is there something or someone in this area he was search for? Or perhaps...he only came out here to attack me so that I would be distracted from whatever happened elsewhere?' Sora mused, yet let out a heavy breath as she could all but feel in the air, that dawn was only a few hours away.

'Well...I'm not getting anywhere with all these questions, so I'll just have to wait and hope that I'll figure things out before anything bad happens.' she finished before slowly closing her eyes to get some rest.

The next morning however, Sora and Mulan arrive back at camp as it appeared to have been burned to the ground. But instead of worrying, the pair were just impressed as Kairi was simply standing there waiting for them along with Shang. "Um...I'm guessing there was an attack?" was all the brown-haired teen could ask as her childhood friend smirked and nodded.

"Yeah...Shan Yu and a horde of Heartless came storming through here. But they were pretty much all a bunch of pushovers." Kairi answered with a shrug of her shoulders.

"They had huge numbers, but I managed to keep everyone save and destroy just about half of the Heartless on my own." she continued, to which she let out a sigh as to show that rather than being a challenge, it was merely tedious.

"Right." Sora muttered, a sweat drop developing while she glanced around the area.

'Guess I know what he was trying to distract me from. Maybe anyway.' the girl thought quickly to herself as she then cleared her throat.

"So...are we still gonna head to the mountain's summit?" she asked quickly, her turning to Shang.

Whom nodded his head in response, his eyes slowly narrowing as he gazed out into the distance. "Yes...I can assume this attack on us was merely to test our strength, as well as to try and get rid of as much opposition as possible." he began, crossing his arms in the process.

"He might have a massive army, but he's still not stupid enough to underestimate the power of one man. So he must have attacked us as a way to test us, as well as his army itself. And with the result, I'd say our time to strike has truly come." the captain continued with a gaze of great conviction.

Sora raised a brow to this as she tilted her head to the side slightly; "What makes you think that he was testing his army?" she questioned curiously.

"The way he was giving orders last night, it seemed like he was trying to command an army he wasn't used to dealing with. So I can only assume that those 'Heartless', as you called them, were something similar to new recruits whom had yet to go to battle along side him." Shang responded, to which the brown-haired teen blinked briefly before nodding slowly.

"That makes sense, he wanted to test his army against 'small fries', before taking on the rest of the Chinese army." Sora muttered silently as each of the others nodded their heads.

"Yes...and while we might not beat them there, we should still reach the village outside of the Tong Shao Pass within a few hours. With any luck, my father will hold them off until we arrive." Shang claimed, him glancing back toward the other men.

All of whom were packing everything needed for the battle ahead, to which they readied all of it on the path leading out of the camp. Once everyone was ready, the troops each headed out and away from the camp with Shang at the front. However, Sora took to laying down inside the canon's carriage to nap due to not sleeping much last night. "Lazy bones." Kairi had muttered just outside the cart, making her friend pout in response.

No one ever noticing Xigbar and Xaldin standing together with what appeared to be a black coffin standing straight up. "Hmph...looks like they're heading off to fight. Who knows if she'll ever notice you're here." the former of the two men stated toward the coffin itself.

Yet right where a person's eyes would be from the inside, there was a thin opening that revealed one visible eye that was bright aqua in color. "But then...we almost didn't either." Xigbar continued with a light laugh before he, Xaldin and the coffin all disappeared in a corridor of darkness.

* * *

 **There you have it, the Heartless is taken care of, but who's in the coffin? Why are they still alive? And just what is Sora gonna do when she gets her hands on Xigbar? Well...I'm sure all of you can guess, quite rightly, for each of them. ;)Let me know what all of you though and I'll see you in the next one.**

 **Oh, btw: How many of you have been reading the revised versions of past chapters? Cause there are some things going on in them that will be brought up in later chapters, so I would suggest reading them really quick if you haven't already since I've changed and added some important things.**


	20. Land of Dragons part V

**Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 19: Land of Dragons part V

Four hours of traveling, or napping in Sora's case, and the troop still had yet to arrive at their destination. Many of the men feeling utterly exhausted as they had yet to take a single break, all with Shang leading them on the back of his horse. Of which made many, Kairi included, very jealous since they wanted nothing more than to just rest their legs at this point. However, their prayers seemed to be answered when the Captain lead his horse off the trail and to the shoreline of a nearby stream.

"We'll rest here for fifteen minutes. Drink your fill as we won't be stopping again till we get to the village." he ordered, to which most of the men just flopped down on the ground to relax for the little time they had.

All the while, Kairi went to the carriage and moved the cloth covering the back. This revealing Sora as she was just starting to wake up, yet her appearance made her gender almost too obvious. Her jacket having been taken off at some point during the trip, showing her very long hair and large chest, despite the bagginess of her shirt. But more than that, her awkward sleeping pose made it so her midriff was exposed. Sora's arms were also stretched out over her head, while both the girl's knees were bent and had her legs tilted to one side.

The teen's appearance making Kairi blink many times and flush slightly, yet she quickly moved the cloth back and cleared her throat. "We're in the final stretch, so it's time for you to get up." she stated silently, her trying to make sure that in case anyone heard her, that none of them would suspect anything.

Sora blinked to this a few times, yet she quickly noticed her somewhat disheveled look and put her coat back on. Upon making sure to hide her long hair and zip up the jacket, she climbed out of the carriage tiredly. Her yawning lightly while moving to the river's edge, to which she splashed some water onto her face. Though, unbeknownst to Sora, most of the men were gazing at her with dagger-like glares as they wished to have been the ones to sleep all the way there.

Kairi looked to this with a sigh before moving beside her friend; "So...did you sleep well?" she asked as the brown-haired girl showered a bit more water onto her face.

"Yeah...I had a few interesting dreams, but nothing I haven't dreamt about before." Sora responded with a light chuckle and smirk.

Though the other girl raised a brow in interest to what said dreams could have been, she just shrugged lightly and looked around. "Well...I made sure to send Zola back into the Gummi ship before we left, so lets make sure to get things done quickly. We've already been away for a while and I think it's time to get back out there." Kairi said silently before turning to her friend fully.

Whom blinked a few times to her, yet slowly smirked and nodded in agreement. "Of course. I already have an idea of where the Keyhole is after that recent scouting mission, so we'll do that along the way so we can just finish things up here as fast as possible." Sora responded back with a smile curling her lips.

The two shared a brief nod with one another, to which they waited till the Captain ordered everyone to move on before continuing on their journey. However, it was only an hour before the brown-haired girl was groaning and asking for a break. "I thought you had super strength or something." Mulan asked, her raising a brow and gazed to Sora with a rather confused expression.

"That doesn't mean my feet don't get sore from walking so much~!" the other teen all but whined out, making both Mulan and Kairi just sigh heavily in response and even roll their eyes.

"Suck it up Sora, we're still a long way away." was the auburn-haired girl's retort, making Sora groan and whine all the more.

Though, after three more hours of traveling, the girl finally seemed to give up on complaining. But once this amount of walking had been accomplished, the group came upon a small village. Despite some houses seemed to have been damaged, most of them appeared to still be completely intact. However, what drew more attention was the sound of yelling just over the hill the village was on. This lead for the troops to immediately ran toward the noise and saw a large army of Chinese soldiers trying to fend off an even larger army of Heartless while in ankle-deep snow.

The small group quickly rushed into action and began fighting against these creatures with little to no success. Their blades going right through all of the beings of darkness, save for Mulan's as she used magic along with her attacks. Meanwhile, Sora and Kairi stood back with their eyes scanning the area. "About half a million I'd guess." the latter uttered out silently with a sigh.

"I'd say that's a good estimation, so I think one good spell should do it. What do you think? Third tier? Fourth tier?" the former asked, her giving a small smile and wink.

"Hmm, well...we haven't gotten the chance to use any Fourth tier spells in combat yet. Might as well give one a shot." Kairi said as she smiled back to her friend.

"Fair enough, let's do it." Sora responded while holding up her hand into the air, which lead for Kairi to do the same.

"Thundaja!" they called out in unison, to which a series of many bolts of lightning shot down from above.

This destroying every single Heartless in the area, as well as scorching the ground they were standing on. The snow having completely evaporated through much of the area, making all of the soldiers look around in shock to what just happened. All the while, Sora and Kairi simply glanced to each other with an almost disappointed gaze. "It looks a lot more impressive when used on just one target. Then it's just one giant lightning bolt." the former muttered with a sigh.

"Definitely...it looks so much cooler." the latter mused in agreement, to which they both just nodded their heads slowly.

Meanwhile, Shang unmounted his horse and rushed over to a man dressed much different than the rest, him even wearing a red cape. But after a brief conversation, the Captain ran quickly back to his horse and called out to all of the troops around him. "Shan Yu is heading for the Imperial City! We have to get there first! Lets move!" he called out while leading his horse toward the Tong Shao Pass, just up the hill of the village.

Sora looked to this together with Kairi, to which they simply watched all of the troops charge behind the Captain. All of them seeming to either forget, or postpone asking about where the lightning came from. But as they ran, the teens remained behind, even Mulan having joined the army as the ran up the snowy hill. Though, thanks to her own horse, she managed to ride along side Shang. This allowing her to defeat the multiple groups of Heartless scattered along the army's path.

Yet as Sora and Kairi moved slowly toward the hill, the former had closed her eyes. Which only let the latter notice the villagers hiding inside of their homes, one of whom was a little girl with a small doll in her arms. However, as the pair moved outside of the village, the brown-haired teen eventually came to a stop. "You feel anything?" Kairi asked as she looked from her friend to around the area.

"Yeah...the Keyhole is definitely somewhere nearby." the other teen answered, her opening moth eyes, summoned the Kingdom Key of Darkness and glanced around.

"Well, you were closest to this place on your last scouting...so it confirms your guess." Kairi commented silently before the pair began moving once more.

"Though...are you sure we should just leave them like this?" she continued while gazing further up the hill where the troops rushed.

"Don't worry, I can sense where Shan Yu is at this distance. We'll find the Keyhole long before they reach him. Plus, Mulan can handle anything he can throw at them, so it'll be fine." Sora responded as a light began to shine from her weapon.

Despite Kairi raising a brow to her friend, she slowly nodded in agreement to this logic. She then turned to the side as Sora moved in the direction that made her Keyblade shine brighter. This leading them into what appeared to be a small cave with lit candles along the walls. At the far end, there was a dragon-shaped statue a top of a few short steps, all while having a pair of candles on either side to give a shrine-like appearance.

"This is it." Sora whispered while holding up her weapon, to which the keyhole seemed to appear within the mouth of the statue.

Immediately following this, a beam of light shot from the Keyblade and locked the keyhole with the all too familiar locking sound. "Alright, that takes care of things here. Lets go find Shan Yu so we can end this war." Kairi said as they moved toward the exit, Sora nodding in agreement along the way.

However, they were instantly stopped when a shimmer of purple light appeared in front of them. This being a barrier to prevent them from leaving the cave, yet they just raised a brow to this sight. "What's the hurry?" Xigbar suddenly said from directly beside the dragon statue.

Though the pair turned toward him, neither one appeared intimidated or such as Sora even unsummoned her weapon. "Well...we are kinda pressed for time." the brown-haired teen commented silently, yet her voice sounded like she was containing a large amount of rage.

The only reason for her to release the Keyblade being that she really wanted to beat him up with her bare fists. Of which the man took notice of as he even took a small step back to be cautious, to which he then let out a silent sigh. "That's too bad, cause we have such a nice present for you...if you're willing to just let things go in this world." Xigbar stated, him gesturing to the opposite side of the dragon statue.

Where of which Xaldin appeared together with the coffin, it still standing straight up with a shorter height than either of the men. But while the teens looked to this curiously, it didn't take long for Sora to realize what or who was inside of it. "I'm guessing that you have a way to destroy the coffin in case I just try killing you both and taking it." she commented silently while crossing her arms, to which both men simply nodded in response.

"So you're willing to make this exchange because...what?" Sora continued, it being more like she was simply speaking out loud than actually asking anything.

"You need this Heartless army? No...you made them all weak on purpose. You need Shan Yu? No, you don't care about him or his goals. Perhaps it's the Heartless and Nobody he'll create when defeated that you want. You don't want us involved because it would risk him being beaten by a Keyblade, making his heart useless to you. Which means you're gathering powerful Heartless and Nobodies for something, but what?" she more of stated than asked, the two men just gazing to her silently as they didn't want to show whether she was right or wrong.

"Something big...something powerful...something...still not ready." the brown-haired girl finished with a small smirk on her features.

This made Xaldin and Xigbar look to her with a narrowed gaze, yet it was still hard to tell if it was confirmation or not. However, the former just smirked soon after and crossed his arms while speaking up once more. "Do we have a deal or not?" he asked, to which Sora looked to the coffin and saw only one visible eye.

"I promise that I will stay out of the fight against Shan Yu, he will not fall by my blade." the teen stated while holding up her right hand to try and further these words.

Xaldin narrowed his eyes further as if thinking of saying something, yet he was stopped when Xigbar said; "Deal."

Immediately following this, the coffin was opened and allowed a lone figure to step out of it. All the while, both Xigbar and Xaldin vanished in corridors of darkness, yet the former left a parting message. "We placed a spell inside him as well, try to get involved and you'll see him die a second time! Oh...and have fun~!"

Sora glared at these words, but she quickly rushed over to the man whom stepped out of the coffin and helped to steady him on his feet. "I'm really sorry I didn't find you sooner, but I promise I'll break the spell they put inside of you. Though...I'm sure you probably thought of something for that, huh? Zexion?" she said with a small and very happy looking smile, to which she received a returning smile and nod.

"Of course, but first..." the man began as he held out a hand and summoned his book.

Immediately following this, his visible eye flashed yellow before he summoned a lightning spell toward the teens. "...you must die."

* * *

 **Dun dun duuun~! How will our heroes get out of this one? Can they save their friend? Will they be able to end this war without breaking the deal? Find out next time on Inverted Sky~! I hope all of you enjoyed and let me know your thoughts. Until the next one.**

 **P.S: I forgot to post the updated version to the last chapter of India Wilderness, but I'll make sure to do that this time.**


	21. Land of Dragons part VI

**Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 20: Land of Dragons part VI

"...you must die."

These three words echoed inside Sora's mind as her slowly widening eyes filled with shock and horror. The teen not even able to respond before her body was violently thrown back by the powerful bolts of lightning Zexion summoned. Though Kairi managed to raise a barrier in time to block the attack toward herself, she couldn't do the same for Sora. This making her turn to the side while watching her friend slam against the far wall.

"Sora!" she called in worry and panic, to which she turned back to Zexion as he simply smirked at his 'handy-work'.

The brown-haired girl having been embedded into the cavern side, as well as being in a sitting position due to how low on the wall she hit. All the while, the area on her shirt that the lightning had struck, actually seemed to have a bit of smoke billowing from it. Yet aside from this, the teen didn't actually appear injured as she gazed at the man with a sad look in her eyes. However, Zexion merely held hand out toward the girl, to which he summoned a dozen flaming rocks in an arch over his head. At which point, all twelve stones hurled toward Sora with great speed, but were blocked by a Reflega spell.

This having been created by Kairi as she quickly stepped in front of her friend with a defensive position. "Don't worry...I'm not going to let him hurt you." the auburn-haired teen claimed while bringing her magic staff out.

"Oh~, Merlin's famous disciple." the steel-blue-haired man hummed out almost in a mocking manner.

"The one whom refuses to use her power of Light, even if it could make her even more powerful than the friend she's so adamantly trying to protect." Zexion claimed, a smirk curling his lips.

After his words, Sora's eyes widened slightly while slowly lifting her gaze toward Kairi. Whom just continued to keep her eyes fixed on Zexion, even as she spoke up in a soft voice. "While I was still in training with Merlin, I got myself into a pretty tight situation."

Over a year ago in Traverse Town, Kairi found herself completely surrounded by Heartless while in the middle of the Third District. Her volunteering to keep Merlin's house safe while he was away, but was now on the verge of collapse as she breathed heavily. The girl glanced around to all of the creatures, each one slowly moving ever closer to her as if taunting the fact that she couldn't fight back anymore. However, she stood her ground regardless while the broken magic staff in her hands shook slightly. But as Kairi glanced down to it, she realized that it was her own hands that were shaking.

'Is...Is this really the end for me? Even after everything I've done to get stronger?' the teen thought to herself as she closed both eyes.

'Even after the promise I made with Sora?' she continued, yet after think of this teen's name, her eyes snapped open.

"Sora..." Kairi whispered silently, her eyes beginning to glow a bright white before the girl's entire body was covered in a similarly colored glow.

This instantly expanding in a growing dome of light and energy, of which had turned all the Heartless into nothing. Along with this, every shadow across the whole town was illuminated as if every bit of darkness was purged from the world. Though the auburn-haired teen passed out as a result of this, it had been witnessed by Merlin as he was rushing over to save her. But upon seeing everything occur, he realized the girl's true potential as a Princess of Heart and allowed her to move forward in training with magic.

"At which point..." Kairi continued as she had told Sora and even Zexion of what happened that day.

"...he told me that my power of Light was immensely powerful and that it could be possibly just as powerful as Sora's darkness if honed properly. And while I have been training, I still refuse to use it." the girl continued as the brown-haired girl could only gaze at her friend in shock.

"And why is that?" Zexion asked silently, yet confidently as he was using her story as a distraction to charge a spell.

Despite going silent for a few seconds, Kairi eventually spoke as she turned around fully to face Sora. "Because I don't want to hurt my best friends." she whispered, her wanting to only be heard by the other girl.

Whom looked at Kairi with wide eyes, a brief gasp escaping her lips as they gazed at one another for what seemed like an eternity. However, this was broken when a bright red glow emitted from the ground all around them. Zexion slowly lifted his book into the air while his other hand was held out to the side; "How sweet...I hope your bond is as strong as your will to defeat me." he claimed just before the floor under both girl's feet erupted into powerful flames.

Of which reached all the way up to the ceiling and scorched it so greatly that the stone began to melt. This allowing some sun light to shine into the cavern as the fire slowly died down. However, when they vanished fully, neither of the teens were seen anywhere in the smoldering cave. With the lack of any sign from the pair, Zexion lowered his book and glanced around in a carefully examining way. Though, he quickly turned to the side when he heard the slightest sound of a foot step.

Sora and Kairi were standing side-by-side of one another, completely untouched. "Yo." the former uttered out with a small smile.

Despite the sudden turn of events, Zexion just turned to them with a small smile of his own. "Impressive, and here I thought you were too distracted to move." he claimed while his gaze slowly shifted from one to the other in order to see sure they were truly unhurt.

"Well...I was. Until Kairi said what she did." Sora said with a slightly wider smile toward her friend.

Whom returned this expression as she winked quickly and turned back to Zexion. "Plus...I was using my story in order to understand who and what you really are. And once I snapped Sora out of her daze, she came to the same conclusion." the auburn-haired teen stated as Sora nodded in agreement.

"You're not really Zexion...you're a remnant...a memory of him." the other girl said softly.

"An absent silhouette." Kairi added silently, to which the other two blinked a few times.

"Aw man...I wish I came up with that one." Sora muttered with a pout; "It sounds so cool."

"It actually does." Zexion muttered in agreement, him shrugging his shoulders before smirking lightly.

"But yes...I might not be real, but I'm no less real than my Nobody." he continued, to which he flipped through a few pages of his book.

"And since I've been placed under a curse that drives me to kill you both no matter what, you have only two choices. Kill me or die." the man stated, his tone sounding more firm now.

After this, Zexion lifted his free hand out while a series of yellow spheres of electricity formed in the air around him. Though Sora and Kairi looked to one another for a moment, they shared a slow nod before turning back to the steel-blue-haired man. "We're going to find you for real, I promise." the former of the pair stated as their eyes narrowed slowly.

Despite Zexion's eyes remaining focused, a small smirk curled his lips while nodding. "I'm looking forward to truly meeting you again." he whispered softly before his spells shot a great deal of lightning toward the two.

However, in a flash of yellow and green electricity from the teens, the whole cave lit up too brightly for anyone to see. "But...at least I can leave you with this." Zexion's voice echoed out just as the light began to fade and reveal the two teens standing together in their original spot.

Though, in place of the man, his magic book hovered in the air as if asking to be taken. Sora blinked to this many times as she gave a glance to Kairi, whom nodded her head as the brown-haired girl slowly walked over and took the book into her hands. Upon doing so, she felt a surge of magical power flow through her for a brief second, to which she blinked and looked through the book.

"Whoa...these spells are pretty amazing." she commented silently with blinking eyes of astonishment.

Kairi giggled softly before gesturing for Sora to follow her outside, making said brown-haired teen smile sheepishly and do as her friend requested. Despite the fact what just happened was rather harsh and grueling on the brown-haired girl's mind, she knew that they still had more to do. So upon going outside, the two looked up at the large mountain in front of them and let out a breath. "Well...I did make a deal. And even if they're counting on my nature to make good on my promises, it would still feel wrong to break it." the brown-haired girl said silently while looking to her friend.

Whom gazed back to her with a slow nod in agreement; "True...and while we're not really needed much anymore, I think we should still help everyone out since we said we would." Kairi said as she looked back to Sora.

"Yeah, and considering how much time we've spent with them...it's only fair we follow through with that promise." the other girl stated as the two quickly headed up the mountain.

The cold increasing with every step with the winds felt like small pin pricks upon their skin. It being the complete opposite to the weather on their island, making it all the more difficult on them to keep trudging forward. Though, it was the gradually deepening snow that truly hindered their progress, yet they still managed to arrive within the Tong Shao Pass in decent time. Upon doing so however, the pair blinked many times when seeing many men running toward them in a panic.

It being now that the teens saw a gigantic avalanche rushing down the side of one of the mountains and straight for them. Despite it being unclear of how it began, the fact that Mulan was the closest one to the 'carnage', it made her the prime suspect. Immediately after understanding this, the pair then saw Mulan rush over to Shang and the man with the red cape. The latter of whom was trapping under his horse as two of it's legs seemed to be broken, making it almost impossible to help him up since the animal itself couldn't move.

This lead for Mulan to try and help the pair, but it was clear that even she wouldn't be able to get them out of the way of the avalanche in time. Sora narrowed her eyes to this before using the teleportation magic she left on Mulan to instantly transport herself to the three. Once they saw her, the brown-haired teen just winked at their shocked expressions and turned to the on coming snow. The girl held out a hand and flexed her fingers, to which a Reflega spell appeared around the group.

Seconds after it appeared, the avalanche hit and was quickly stopped in its tracks by the barrier. However, the sheer weight of all the snow still pushing toward the group was quite strong and caused parts of the spell to start cracking and breaking. "Okay...this is a lot heavier than I thought." she muttered silently before turning toward the three as the two men gazed in utter disbelief at what they were seeing.

Even Mulan was impressed as she now knew that she had only seen a taste of the brown-haired girl's true power. But she quickly snapped out of this and helped to lift the horse away from the older man's legs, to which she and Shang began helping him away from the avalanche's path of destruction. However, just as the captain turned to offer his thanks, part of the teen's barrier broke near the top and caused some snow to fall onto her. This actually burying her completely as more and more snow fell through the hole to pile atop the teen.

"Sora!" Shang called out while turning toward her, yet all of them shifted their gaze to the barrier as it just shattered without any countering magic.

This caused each of their expressions to turn to horror as the avalanche swept toward them once more. But almost within the same second, all of the snow, ice and debris was blasted away with what looked like an incredibly strong gust of wind. There being almost complete silence in the mountains, the only sound being the wind blowing. Of which had briefly flowed in the opposite direction of the avalanche, but was now following it once more. Though, what caused the stillness was the beautiful young girl standing amidst the snow.

Her long brown hair flowing in the wind as she gazed out to the area in front of her. The girl's clothes slowly returning to normal with her usual short shorts and half dress, it being clear that she no longer cared about keeping her gender a secret. Or it was possible that she was planning to reveal it at the end no matter what, likely to just give everyone a quick shock. Regardless however, Kairi just sighed silently as she figured her friend would do such a thing.

But what the auburn-haired girl found odd was the fact that no one said a word about it. Though, the fact that many of them just witnessed Sora using a single swinging of her arm to blow the entire avalanche away, likely had something to do with it. This feat seeming to leave everyone completely speechless, even Mulan was at a loss for words.

However, on the other side of the hill where the avalanche started, Shan Yu and his five commanders emerged from the snow. Them having been buried by the snow-slide, before being sent flying through the air from Sora's swing. This lead for each of them to catch their breaths and glare angrily at the top of the hill where they knew the Chinese army was waiting. Shan Yu growled silently with heavily narrowed eyes, yet slowly he began moving in the opposite direction.

"We'll strike again when their guard is down." one of the other men muttered when he stopped whom seemed to be his possible twin from rushing up the hill.

"We must simply bide our time." a much skinnier man added while digging his archer's bow from the snow.

"Next time...we'll crush them completely." Shan Yu growled out silently as he continued to move away with his men as stealthy as possible.

* * *

 **Well, this is technically the last chapter for this world for now. There will be a quick ending at the start of the next chapter, but I felt it was better to end this one here and pick it up next chapter. Anyway, I'm going to start redoing Chain of Memories starting with the first chapter. It won't be on a schedule however since I plan to try bringing the one chapter a week back, so just check back every so often if you want. I've gotten into a groove for writing again, so I think I can go back to the previous schedule. Well...I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter and will let me know what you thought. Until next time.**


	22. Olympus Coliseum part I

**Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 21: Olympus Coliseum part I

Sora let out a long breath into the cold air, which could be seen for a brief few seconds before disappearing. Though as the teen turned her gaze toward each of the people staring at her, she just took on a small grin in response. However, it slowly became a pout as she realized why everyone was gawking at her.

"Aw~, and here I wanted to make the reveal all dramatic. But they're more amazed by what I did than the fact that I'm a girl." she muttered silently with a huff.

"Can you blame them?" Kairi commented while making her way over to the brown-haired teen.

Whom sighed with a brief shrug of her shoulders; "I guess...but I was waiting almost a whole week to make the reveal, and now keeping it a secret just feels like its gone to waste." Sora muttered, her pout increasing slightly even as she held out a hand toward Kairi.

Said teen's clothes slowly changing until they became that of the pink strapless mini-dress, as well as a long white and pink coat. The former color being the main one, while the latter was in a flower-shaped design on the back. This garment also having a white fur collar, hem and cuffs that prevented the cold wind from entering it. While Kairi blinked a few times to her new appearance, she slowly took on a small smile and looked to her friend.

"I really like this coat, though..." she started while opening jacket slightly and showed part of her mini-dress.

"...why did you give me this outfit?" the girl continued with a tilt of her head in question.

Sora smiled sheepishly as she scratched the back of her neck and glanced to the side. "W-Well...I thought it looked really good on you." she almost stuttered out silently.

Kairi blinked a few times in response to this, yet she slowly took on a wide smile and shrugged both shoulders. "Well, I did like it a bit more than the other one that Merlin made for me." was her silent comment, making her friend smile even wider.

Though, after their quick interaction, the brown-haired girl turned to Mulan as she and Shang were still holding up the caped man. "Thanks for everything, Ping. We'll make sure to stop by every so often and see how you're all doing." Sora began while gracing some of her long hair behind her ear as a gust of wind blew by.

"Oh...and don't forget, Captain." she continued, raising two fingers up toward her brow as if making a saluting gesture.

"I still want those Kung-Fu scrolls, so I'll come by to pick them up later." the teen claimed as she gave a quick wink.

"See ya again soon~!" Sora finished, just before Kairi called out her own farewell of; "Bye for now~!"

Immediately following this, the pair were engulfed in a beam of light that came down from the sky. It blinding everyone for a moment as they shielded their eyes, to which the pair vanished the second the light stopped. Upon seeing all this, the man in the red cape looked around to everyone and cleared his throat in order to gain their attention. "What happened here will remain a secret for now. Is that clear?" he called out in a firm and authoritative tone, causing all the soldiers to just nod their heads.

Meanwhile, Sora picked up Zola off her seat so she could sit down, to which she placed the large cat in her lap. Or at least as much of her lap as possible since the leopard was too big for such a thing, yet she still managed it. The brown-haired teen then looked to her friend as she removed the coat and draped it over her own chair. "Guess it's on to Hollow Bastion? Or should we just head straight for the coliseum?" Kairi questioned while sitting down with a light sigh.

Sora looked from her to the space outside the dome window, to which she hummed silently to ponder this. However, she quickly looked to the computer in front of her as it had a blinking light on the screen. But once she pressed the button, a series of messages began appearing on the display one after another. This made both teens and even the young cat blink many times while watching the list get longer and longer.

"Sixty-two unread messages." Sora whispered out with a heavy sweat drop, her having read off the note at the bottom of the monitor.

"Most are from Donald I'm assuming?" Kairi half asked, half assumed while she leaned over to look at the screen as well.

"I don't doubt it." the brown-haired teen muttered, her letting out a heavy sigh immediately afterward.

Silence filled the ship for a few moments, yet Kairi was the one whom eventually broke it. "Though...since we're already gonna be in trouble, why not just stay out for one more day so we can go train at the coliseum?" she suggested, to which Sora turned to her with blinking eyes.

"Wow...that sort of idea coming from you is really unexpected." she commented, yet the auburn-haired girl merely shrugged her shoulders while offering a quick wink.

"What can I say? You're rubbing off on me." the teen claimed with a small grin, making her friend giggle softly and shrug as well.

"I suppose I am." Sora said before nodding back and taking a hold of the controls.

"Alright, next stop...the coliseum!" she continued on with a grin, her piloting the ship to said world.

Though, once she brought the space craft to a stop and pressed the button that allowed the three to teleport down, another message popped up on the screen. 'He's gonna be really mad when we get back.' the brown-haired girl thought to herself with a sigh, as if imagining the white duck screaming at them in his usual upset voice.

Upon landing on the ground however, both teens blinked a few times as they seemed to be inside of some kind of city-sized cavern. Yet while looking around, there was a large body of water all around them. Of which was a foul shade of green, all while having what looked like ghosts drifting through it. "Um...is this what it's supposed to look like?" Kairi asked silently, her looking over to the other girl with a blinking gaze.

"No...I'm pretty sure this isn't the coliseum." Sora said while glancing around a bit more, to which she then noticed a tall set of stairs that seemed to have a large opening with light shining through.

"We might have been thrown a bit off course because of the sixty-third message we received." she continued with a shrug of her shoulders.

Kairi followed the other girl's gaze before nodding slowly in agreement; "Maybe. Though..." she began while slowly glancing back at the rest of the scenery.

There being what appeared to be two paths leading across the water and toward a pair of completely separate caves that went in different directions. However, what was odd about them was the fact that the openings appeared to be slidable so that they could close. "...it just makes me wonder what this place is." the teen finished in a soft voice as she kept looking around.

"Who knows." Sora muttered, yet she quickly let out a very girlish yelp when a sudden scream was heard.

The auburn-haired teen glanced to her friend and giggled softly, to which said girl just huffed with an expression basically said; 'Not a word'. Though, they immediately turned to the source of the scream and saw a woman with a slender body and long, dark auburn hair. Of which was tied into a high ponytail while also having curly bangs. She had purple eyes with lavender eyelids, which shared a color scheme with her dress. This having golden straps, two purple sashes and a hem that ended just above her orange-sandaled feet.

Though, this woman was in fact running away from half a dozen dog-like Heartless that were chasing after her. Of which made Zola let out a hiss in response as they were canine-like enough to bring out the instinct of not liking them. But instead of giggling to this, Sora brought a hand up slightly and snapped her fingers. The sound actually echoing through the cavern, despite their voices not doing the same when they were speaking.

Immediately following the teen's action, the Heartless glances toward her, yet didn't stop chasing the woman. Whom had tripped over a rock when being distracted by the sudden sound, her letting out a yelp of fright and pain as she winced slightly from her fall. However, Sora just spoke up in a voice that sounded like there was some sort of echoing effect, yet it wasn't coming off the walls of the cave. "Sit!" she ordered out, causing the six Heartless to instantly stop and sit down like proper dogs.

"Now go lay down." the teen continued in her strange voice, to which the half dozen creatures disappeared through corridors of darkness.

Once they were gone, Sora walked over to the woman along with Kairi and Zola. The last of whom was looking around carefully as if making sure there weren't any other dogs in the vicinity. "Are you okay?" the brown-haired girl questioned while holding out a hand toward the woman as she was slowly standing up.

"Just peachy." she muttered out as her pony tail had fallen over her face, making it so that she couldn't see anyone in front of her.

Though, after she stood up and moved her hair to the side, she looked the trio over with a raised brow. "And you three are?" the woman questioned, her raising a high brow as she had never seen anything like them, especially Zola.

Said leopard sniffing at the air around the woman as if to try and memorize the scent. Sora blinked to the woman a few times as she was in fact extremely beautiful in appearance, yet she just smiled softly and gestured to herself with a thumb. "I'm Sora. This is Kairi and Zola." she introduced in a cheerful tone while pointing to each individual when announced.

"Uh-huh..." the woman hummed out silently before shrugging; "Well I'm Megara...but you can just call me Meg if you'd like."

The two teens nodded slowly to this in response, all while Zola tilted her head to the side slightly in a curious manner. "So Meg, what is this place exactly?" Kairi questioned as she figured it would be good to get some information.

"It's the Underworld of course. You know...the place where everyone goes when they die? Ruled by that annoying God Hades." was Meg's response while rolling her eyes, it being clear to the human pair that she wasn't very fond of the mentioned man.

Clearing her throat, Sora gained the woman's attention and made an inquiry of her own. "Okay...so why are you down here?"

Meg turned to the girl with a raised brow, her appearing to be hesitant to answer at first before sighing softly. "I wanted to try and help out Wonder-Boy by asking Hades to ease up on all the fights he's been pushing over the last few months. But he refused to see me and even sent those things after me." she began in a huff, to which she crossed both arms under her chest.

Despite the teens glancing to one another for a moment in question as to whom this 'Wonder-Boy' was, they didn't have long to wait before it was answered for them. "Hercules has really been working himself to the bone to keep the city safe and make sure the people are entertained." the woman continued as her gaze slowly drifted toward what the pair had guessed was an exit.

"Though Hades did come to the agreement with him a while ago that he would keep the monsters inside the coliseum, if they actually defeat Hercules...they'll be free to wreak havoc. Right now, the people just believe it's part of the show when they're watching the games. But if something happens..." Meg continued, her eyes now shifting down at the ground.

This made each of the other three blink a few times to her, the woman's tone and mannerisms showing just how much she truly cared about Hercules. Yet the teens just remained quiet while nodding knowingly to each other, to which Sora smirked softly and spoke up once more. "Well, no worries...I'll go and talk to Hades myself. And if he still won't listen, I'll take Hercules' place for a while so he can rest up." she claimed with a wide grin.

Meg blinked a few times as she then looked the girl up and down as if to size her up for what she could do in a fight. "Are you sure you can handle such thing?" was her question in a somewhat unimpressed tone.

"Of course~! I've beaten both Hercules and Hades before after all~!" Sora stated in a happy and rather proud voice, yet it only made Meg all the more confused since she wasn't sure if the girl was being serious.

"So don't worry...I got this~!" the brown-haired teen all but sang out with a quick wink.

* * *

 **And there you have it, sorry if the start felt a big rushed but I really wanted to get that part done over with as quickly as possible. Besides, it's not the last we'll see of that world after all. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter and will let me know what you thought of it, as well as the story as a whole. Also, if anyone else has idea they'd like to throw my way, I'll be more than happy to listen and possibly put them in. Until next time everyone.**


	23. Olympus Coliseum part II

**Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 22: Olympus Coliseum part II

Sora whistled silently as she walked through the depths of the Underworld by herself, the girl glancing around to the wisps of blue fire lighting the way. She then glanced over her shoulder for a moment as a series of Heartless seemed to be following her, yet never attacked. After humming softly, she looked forward once more as she just kept moving.

Though, fifteen minutes ago, Kairi and Zola were following along with her as they made sure to lead Meg up to the coliseum. After just a few minutes of walking further into the Underworld, the group encountered a group of Heartless. However, the auburn-haired teen began to feel very weak during the fight, making Sora literally carry her to the coliseum after the fight. Her then telling Zola to look after Kairi while she went on ahead, to which she went back into the Underworld and headed inside one of the caves.

As she walked, the girl kept whistling while her gaze shifted around a bit more. The cavern she was traveling through slowly became a somewhat thin tunnel, with the many blue flames floating in the air. These actually moving away from Sora when she came closer as if they were only meant to keep the area bright enough for others to see where they were going. 'I wonder if Hades actually walks through this tunnel on a consistent basis.' the teen thought to herself while continuing forward.

At which point, she arrived in another large cavern that held what appeared to be a swirling pool of green water at the bottom. This having the same ghost-like figures as in the water near the exit of the Underworld. Though Sora tried to stay focused, she couldn't help but look over the edge of the path and to the whirlpool below. "That looks so cool." she hummed out silently with a small grin and exited expression.

However, for some reason, the happiness wasn't actually visible in her eyes. Despite her tone and mannerisms not changing, the simple fact that she was alone seemed to make something change in the teen's demeanor. Sora then stood back slightly and continued on her way to what appeared to be a large stone door, to which she pulled it open with ease. Upon doing so, the girl almost immediately let out a girlish yelp as Hades' voice was heard screaming out. "You are fired!"

Yet the brown-haired teen fought back her urge to blush and rushed up the stairs beyond the door. Her coming into a room that had a stone table in the middle, a wide window on the far left and a throne directly ahead. There also being a room just to the right, but while Sora couldn't see into it very well, there was a green glow emitting from it. Though, what grabbed the girl's was the man facing off against both Hades and Pete.

This man had on a blood red haori with blue lining and was kept closed with a thick, black and blue strap. He also appeared to have his left arm into tucked into the front of his haori, making it look as though his arm was in a sling. A brown shoulder pad could be seen on this same shoulder, it being intricately decorated with tan, green, and blue patterns. The man also wore black pants and shoes, the latter of which having brown straps and triangular metal plating adorning them.

Next, he had on a black shirt with a grey collar, of which held intersecting brown straps that were high enough to cover his mouth. His short hair appeared to be dark grey and spiked, which was reflected on the large blade resting on his shoulder. This weapon had a long, turquoise handle with a gold pommel. Its guard was a bluish-green and decorated with swirling, yellow patterns. Yet the sword itself was similar to that of a tachi with a light shade of grey closer to the blade, while turning darker the further away.

Said weapon quickly being slashed toward Hades as Pete seemed to just hide beneath the table as best he could. Though the Lord of the Dead caught the blade with his bare hands without any sign of injury, the two noticeably struggled to try and overpower the other. The man in red still only using his one hand however, making Sora think that if he could or did use his other arm, he would win the test of strength.

But while Hades struggled to push the man back, he briefly glanced toward the door Sora came through upon seeing the movement out of the corner of his eyes. Of which widened when seeing the teen standing there simply blinking her own eyes to this scene. "You!" he almost growled out to her.

However, this provided enough of a distraction for the man in red to push Hades back with a quick thrust of his weapon. Upon stumbling back and into his own throne, the God of the Underworld glared from the man to Sora as he spoke up once more. "What are you doing here?" he demanded quickly while pushing himself up out of the seat.

"I'm here fore a few reasons actually, but right now I'm just here to ask you to give Hercules a break in the arena." Sora responded with a quick shrug of her shoulders.

"Although, I don't really mind if you don't since I was planning to take his place. So it doesn't fully matter if you do or not." she continued, a small grin curling her lips in a bit of excitement.

This making Hades sigh heavily and roll his eyes, to which he then sat right back down. Yet he still seemed to make sure to keep an eye on the man in red, all while Pete slowly snuck out through the window with a whimper. "Hmph...as if I would want you to be fighting in the coli-" Hades began, yet stopped when something came to his mind.

After a brief moment of pondering, he looked to Sora with a small grin curling his lips. "You know what? Sure, I'll give Hercules his break. For now...the games will be put on hold." he stated while waving a hand through the air.

Meanwhile, the man in red was looking between Hades and Sora with a hard gaze. It being now that the teen took notice of the fact that he had a large scar over the right half of his face and over his eye. Of which remained shut, possibly as a result of the injury. Yet the eye that was visible was actually a rather beautiful shade of amber.

"Oh~? And I'm assuming you have a plan for something big?" the girl questioned as she crossed both arms and turned to the blue-skinned man.

Hades chuckled silently to this with a shrug; "My my...all that time with Maleficent inside your head really did make you sharper." he commented, to which Sora simply shrugged her shoulders.

"True." was all the teen responded with at first before turning to the man in red.

"So...who are you? What's your story?" she asked, tilting her head to the side silently midway through.

"My story, huh?" the man uttered out silently, him looking at her with his only open eye.

"My name is Auron...I guess you could say I'm a Guardian for those whom need guidance." he continued as he noticeably appeared to relax a bit.

Sora blinked a few times to him, yet took her signature grin while nodding her head in greeting. "Well it's nice to meet you Auron, I'm Sora." she began with a quick wave of her hand.

"I guess I'm also a Guardian, but I'm one for anyone and everyone." the girl finished, her grin widening as she slowly reached a hand out as if to shake.

However, since Auron only seemed to have one usable arm, he had to stab his weapon into the floor before shaking her hand. At which point, his open eye widened slightly when he felt something strange surge both through and out of him. It being as if at the same time of something flowing into him, something else was practically being ripped away. But what this could be, Auron wasn't sure since he didn't actually feel any different even after they parted their hands.

"Hmph...pay him no mind, he's just a difficult puppet whom doesn't feel like following his Master's orders." Hades huffed out in a bit of a growl, him leaning back in his throne.

Sora looked from Hades to Auron before she just smiled softly; "Well...whatever the case might be, would you like to come with me? My friends and I are planning to do a bit of training and you look like the type who would be really good with a sword." the teen questioned, a small grin developing on her features.

Despite the Lord of the Dead opening his mouth in a clear sign of denying this request, the man in red spoke up beforehand. "I can...and I will." he stated in a firm tone as to not give Hades the chance to say otherwise.

Sora grinned to this with a nod as she gestured for Auron to follow her, to which they headed out of the room. Immediately following this, the God of the Underworld moved as if to stand up. However, he paused as if thinking of something once more, to which he smirked lightly and allowed himself to relax. "Fine. But before you go, I'd like a quick word with you...Sora." he claimed quickly, just before Sora could get too far away from the door.

Said teen raised a brow to him before looking to Auron with a small smile and wave of her hand. "It's alright, I'll just be a second." she said as she moved back into the room.

At which point the door instantly shut behind her, yet Sora didn't bother looking back as she kept her gaze locked onto Hades. Whom had an even wider smirk on his features while he spoke up once more; "I couldn't help but notice the power I gave you over a year ago is still swirling around inside you somehow." he began in a very clearly manipulative voice.

"Uh-huh, I bet Maleficent simply told you about it and you just now remembered." Sora stated with a light chuckle and shrug.

"Though, that must mean you thought of a way that would allow you to use it to your benefit. Is that right?" she continued in a very knowing tone as Hades merely nodded, him not bothering to hide his intentions.

"Yep...but I think we can both stand to gain from my plan." the Lord of the Dead claimed with a wider smirk than before, making Sora just raise a brow.

A few minutes later however, she pulled the door open and met up with Auron waiting outside. "Sorry for the wait, he's a bit long winded." the teen said with a shrug and giggle.

Though the man gazed at her with a raised brow, he just accepted her words, for now. The pair then started making their way to the exit of the Underworld, yet, it was far from a silent trip. "So you're a Guardian, huh? Who do you guard?" Sora asked with a blinking gaze of curiosity.

Auron looked back to her quietly for a brief few seconds, but finally gave his answer with a small smirk. "Anyone who needs me." was all he said, making the teen pout as she wanted a bit more of an answer.

"Well...who was the last person you guarded?" the girl questioned further, her not giving up in finding out more.

"Someone whom needed me." came the simple and rather silent response, to which Sora whined to him.

"Oh come on~! Now you're doing that on purpose~!" she called out in an accusing manner, to which Auron chuckled softly.

Him actually seeming to enjoy Sora's company, or possibly just company in general as it has likely been a long time since he's spoken to anyone. Yet it was impossible to know as even the brown-haired teen couldn't figure much out, Auron being as closed about his past as his scarred eye. But at the same time, he was very witty and even seemed to like teasing the girl with his sarcasm. Said girl continuing to ask many other questions along the way, which ranged from his favorite foods and colors, to why he uses such a large sword.

Each one being met with short answers, yet would also include the occasional sarcastic remark. Though, by the time they finally reached the exit to the Underworld, Sora appeared satisfied with everything she discovered about the man. Whom walked together with the girl as they came out to the entrance of the coliseum. Of which hadn't changed in the slightest since Sora's first visit, bringing back multiple memories now that she actually let herself appreciate them.

"Hasn't changed one bit." she muttered silently to herself while continuing to look around the area.

"I actually have a question about that." Auron suddenly spoke up, him having remained silent since they exited the cavern within the Underworld.

Sora turned to him with a blinking gaze before she just took on a small smile; "By all means, ask away." she claimed, her making a quick gesture with a hand to further these words.

"I understand that you're not from this world, but what I'm curious about is why you're here in this one." the man said while looking at Sora with his only open eye.

After looking to him for a few seconds, the brown-haired girl merely smiled softly. "To grow stronger so that I can protect those I care for." was her rather short, but firm answer.

This made Auron smile in response, to which he nodded his head slowly. "Then I'll use all my skills as a guardian to help you do exactly that." he stated as his smile widened slightly.

* * *

 **And there you have it, the long awaited meeting between Sora and Auron. I wanted to give it a somewhat familial feel to it since I think it sort of fits. Also, the reason why Kairi felt like that is because her powers are heavily based around Light. So being in the Underworld is literally her kryptonite, so that's why I did what I did with her. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed and will let me know what you thought. Until next time everyone.**


	24. Olympus Coliseum part III

**Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 23: Olympus Coliseum part III

Wind violently blasted in every direction, the sound of metal clashing on metal echoed through the air and across the coliseum. A percussion wave followed instantly afterward as even the solid stone making up the stands and pillars, cracked slightly from under the pressure. Meanwhile, in the center of the coliseum, Sora's and Auron's blades sparked slightly as they pressed against each other with great force.

Yet despite all this strength, the pair were still only using one arm on the grip of their weapons. They then separated a split second later before slashing at one another with great speed and power. More sparks flew around the pair as they continued their attack, neither one appearing to give up any ground. Though, it was more than clear from the way they moved that Auron was far more experienced and was able to handle the teen's superior agility and strength with sheer technique.

All the while, Kairi stood to the side watching alongside Zola, Phil, Hercules and Meg. The last of whom just blinked many times at the sparring match happening right in front of her. Hercules actually having to stand behind both her and Phil slightly so that they didn't fall over from the impact of each percussion wave. The auburn-haired girl not having too much of a problem with it due to her training, while Zola was doing just fine being on four limbs than just two.

"This Auron guy is good." the satyr comment silently while stroking his beard.

"Yeah...he is." Kairi hummed out with a small smirk upon her features, her crush toward the man being very apparent while she watched him.

Something of which Sora noticed when she introduced the man to each of her friends, leading for her to ask for this sparring match almost immediately afterward. Though Auron didn't seem to mind, as he wished to test her current strength and ability anyway, he couldn't help but perceive just how Sora looked at Kairi. This letting him know exactly what was going on, as they quickly began their fight. Which was continuing with great feats of agility and power from both sides.

"Your speed is equally as impressive as your strength." Auron muttered silently while locking blades with Sora once more.

Said teen unable to help the small smirk that curled her lips, despite the fact that she was supposed to be fighting him in order to show off for Kairi. It almost feeling like an idol was complimenting her, so the reaction just came naturally. However, she quickly regained her composure and pushed the man back as she took a small step forward. "Thanks, though I have a feeling there is a 'but' at the end there." she all but stated as she relaxed slightly, yet still remained on guard.

"You could say that." Auron started, him moving into another attack-ready pose, but didn't move right away.

"While I'm not overly surprised by how strong and fast you are, considering that you said you've been saving entire worlds. I am a bit surprised that you don't have any technique outside of what I can only describe as; amateur martial arts." the man continued, causing Sora to almost freeze in place while her eyes widened.

"'A-A-A-Amateur martial arts'?" she echoed back in both shock and comedic despair.

Auron raised a brow to this for a moment, but he soon chuckled softly and spoke up once more. "However..." he began, letting Sora regain a bit of hope again.

"...I can also tell you have a great deal of potential. And with enough training, you could become a great master of both the martial arts and sword techniques." the man finished, a small smile curling his lips.

The brown-haired girl quickly gaining a similar expression on her own features, to which she readied her stance once more. "I'm ready for my first lesson." she claimed silently, making Auron prepare to fight once more as well.

Immediately following this, the two seemed to simply vanish before meeting the center with their blades locked. More sparks flying between the metals as the resulting winds and percussion wave were even stronger than the ones before. During this, Sora moved her free hand to clutch her Keyblade, all while Auron began shifting his own free limb to the grip of his weapon. But just as their hands were about to take hold of their respectful blades, a voice called out in a firm manner.

"Oh no you don't!" Kairi yelled while making her way over to the pair.

"We agreed to train here together, not for you to just start a training seminar with another master." the auburn-haired girl claimed as she came straight up to Sora, whom smiled sheepishly in response.

"S-Sorry Kairi...guess I got a little carried away." the other girl responded with a tone that matched her expression.

"Well..." Auron began, him moving his arm back into his robes; "...I could teach the both of you."

After these words, the teens looked from him, to each other before slowly nodded their heads. Yet they then shifted their gaze down when Zola meowed at them; "Oh yeah...we're supposed to be working on a new series of techniques for us to try out." Sora said quickly in an apologetic tone, the girl kneeling down and petting the leopard's head in a gentle manner.

Said cat let out a soft purr from this as she even licked the teen's hand, to which Sora giggled lightly. "Well..." Auron started again, to which the three turned to him.

"...I might not know much about team attacks with a leopard, but I believe I have a few ideas in mind." he continued as he looked to Zola, whom gazed up to him with a brief meow.

As Sora shifted her gaze between the two, she took notice of the fact that even the leopard appeared to like the man. This making her puff both cheeks before turning to Auron; "So what sort of lessons do you have in mind?" she asked quickly to grab everyone's attention and keep them on track.

The raven-haired man turned to her with a raised brow for a brief moment, yet he actually appeared to figure out what was going on. He then gave a slow nod of his head before speaking up in a rather thoughtful tone. "They might be a bit tough to pull off, but the tactics I'm going to have you practice are highly effective against multiple opponents." Auron stated, to which the three leaned in a bit closer in order to listen to what he would say.

However, after a while, each of them were all but whining from how difficult each attack pattern was. Them spending almost a full hour on just one, making it only possible for them to get through three before finally calling it quits. At which point, the trio just collapsed in the middle of the coliseum and groaned out in exhaustion. "I think...we should go back to Merlin's now." Kairi muttered as she was ready to just go to bed, despite the sun still being out and burning brightly.

"Yeah, I'm not gonna argue with that." Sora added silently, to which she looked over to the meowing Zola.

Said leopard basically laying atop of the brown-haired teen as they each slowly caught their breath. Meanwhile, Hercules and Phil kept a close watch on all this training, while Meg would leave every half hour to get some drinks or snacks. Auron however, gazed down to the three he trained with a light chuckle and shrug of his shoulders. "Guess they're not quite ready for too many team attacks yet." he whispered to himself, to which he slowly moved closer to them and knelt down.

"Well, that concludes today's training. I'll make sure to have a whole new list of tactics prepared for next time." the man claimed in a somewhat teasing manner, making the teens groan out in a near whine.

"Until then though...I suppose I'll be seeing you." Auron finished, him waving his unused hand and started walking to the coliseum's exit.

Sora blinked to him a few times before slowly sitting up, her leaving Zola's upper half in her lap. "Where are you heading?" the girl asked quickly as she tilted her head to the side slightly.

"There is someone...I wish to see." was his response, him pausing briefly to turn back to face the teen.

Despite wanting to know whom this could be, Sora just nodded her head and offered a small smile. "Alright, fair enough. We'll be back in a day or two, so make sure to come up with lots of good tactics for us to practice." she claimed with her smile widening slightly.

After these words however, Sora then cleared her throat and spoke up in a rather sheepish tone. "Just...you know...don't make them too hard." she added as her nervousness for what the man would come up with was very clearly shown.

"I'll keep that in mind." were Auron's last words just before heading through the exit, him offering one more quick wave of farewell when doing so.

The brown-haired teen smiled lightly to this, though she slowly turned to Kairi as she was gazing to the man's leaving form. It being obvious that she was facing a dilemma with her crush toward him, and the harshness of the training she just endured. All the while, Zola was finally able slow down her panting, yet still didn't move away from Sora's lap. At which point, said girl began petting the top of her head with a soft smile curling her lips.

"Guess we should be going too." the brown-haired teen muttered silently to Kairi and Zola, to which she then looked over to Phil, Hercules and Meg as they came over.

"Sorry for not being able to spend more time here with our usual training, but we'll make sure to stop by here again soon." Sora continued, her smile turning a bit sheepish.

"It's alright kid...I think that guy did a pretty good job in trainin' yous three, so don't worry about it. Though..." the satyr began as he took on a smile of his own, all while stroking his beard.

"...I'll have ta make sure I come up with somethin' extra for next time." he finished, making the teens sweat drop in unison.

"But for now...we appreciate you stopping by and saying 'Hi'." Hercules claimed with a small smile and nod of his head.

"Of course~! There's no way I wouldn't come over for a visit, especially not after all the time I've spent away." Sora said in a somewhat cheerful, yet sheepish manner.

"Speaking of...where have ya been all this time anyway? And how the heck did you improve so much in just one year?" Phil questioned, him crossing both arms across his chest.

The brown-haired girl glanced over to Kairi briefly before both girls stood up along with Zola. "It's a bit of a long story, but I'll make sure to tell you about it next time." Sora answered while giving her trademark smile to each of the three.

"Alright, well...we look forward to hearing all about it." Hercules said as he nodding his head once more to the teen.

"And before you leave..." Meg suddenly spoke up, her taking a small step forward as her gaze remained on Sora; "...thanks." she finished in a near whisper.

This just lead for the brown-haired girl to smile wider in response and offer a thumbs up. "Any time." she claimed before each of them said their goodbyes and the three headed out of the coliseum to leave.

However, standing in the middle of the path was an all too familiar witch in a flowing black cloak. "Quite the interesting ally you've made for yourself." Maleficent stated in obvious reference to Auron.

But what was even more odd, was the fact that she seemed to know the man somehow. "But more on that later...I actually have a job for each of you." the woman continued, causing Sora to blink many times while Kairi and Zola narrowed their eyes.

"Well...I suppose it's more of a request with rewards since if you complete it, I'll offer you some information that will surely benefit you and your mission." Maleficent explained, to which the brown-haired teen tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"Hmm...I don't know, what exactly is this job you want us to do?" Sora asked while tilting her head to the side curiously.

The evil fairy gazed to the teens and Zola with a small smirk, her appearing to know what their response was going to be. "To defeat a few traitors in my legion, each of whom intend to overthrow me and take over the worlds for themselves." she answered, making each of the three blink many times in confusion.

* * *

 **Get ready everyone, next chapter will actually be from Maleficent's point of view in order to show exactly what you can expect from this 'job' she's hiring Sora and her friends for. ;) Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter. I know it was pretty light on content...but there really wasn't a whole lot I could do that wouldn't have lead into at least three more (and rather unnecessary) chapters. But let me know what all of you think and until next time.**


	25. Hollow Bastion Side Story

**Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 24: Hollow Bastion Side Story

In the dark corridors of her Hollow Bastion castle, Maleficent gazed down at a round table. Of which showed a magic display of Sora speaking to Xaldin when she had visited Beast's castle. "Xemnas has determined it's worth telling you that once a person's Heartless and Nobody have been destroyed, the original is reformed." the man in black explained, to which the witch raised a brow curiously.

"Therefore, he has decided to make it a game of whether or not you get to save them this time...or to let them die again." Xaldin continued, Maleficent then taking on a small smirk in amusement while watching the visible shaking in Sora's hands.

"Whether you wish to play is entirely up to you...but you better hurry and decide. Who knows what might happen if one of us finds them first." he finished, just before vanishing in a portal of darkness.

Immediately afterward, Maleficent waved her hand and allowed the display to disappear and show just the table. However, she tilted her head down in deep thought for a few moments in order to figure out how to use this to her advantage. She then moved herself away from the table in the center of a large hall, to which she walked slowly toward the throne at the very end of the room. Upon sitting in it, her eyes closed as a small, yet wicked smile curled her lips.

"Pete...get in here." she whispered, but her voice still echoed through the hall as said anthropomorphic cat rushed inside and ran up to the woman's throne.

"Y-Yes, Maleficent?" he asked quickly, him being a little out of breath while he took a knee in front of her.

After reopening her eyes, the witch gazed down at the man and spoke out in a silent tone. "Gather our forces, they're going on a little scavenger hunt." she ordered, her voice being very commanding and firm, despite its quietness.

"E-Even the new guys? Cause most of them don't seem very compliant in taking orders so far." Pete said rather nervously, him being worried about what the woman might do or say in return.

"Is that so?" Maleficent hummed out calmly at first, yet her smile slowly disappeared while both eyes began to glow a bright yellow.

"Then tell them that they can either listen to me...or die by my hand." she stated in a completely honest and very intimidating manner.

It even making Pete shiver and gulp, despite the words not actually being directed toward him. "Y-Yes ma'am!" he called out before rushing out the doors as fast as possible.

Maleficent simply smirked lightly to this before letting out a breath, to which she stood herself up and moved away from the throne. The witch going toward an open door on the right side of the room, a crystal orb similar to the one in Castle Oblivion being visible in the center. While walking up to this, the woman brought out her free hand to hover over the sphere's surface. "Reveal the hearts for which I hold dear." she whispered quietly, her staff's jewel briefly glowing a bright green.

Once she said these words, the lone image of Sora appeared in the crystal. However, it then changed into a golden heart that held many chains linking it to a great many red colored hearts. There also being multiple black hearts, exactly seven white ones, and even a single transparent heart. As Maleficent's hand hovered over the black hearts, they almost seemed to be magnified. Which then created five separate images, yet they were each of different areas within the same world of Hollow Bastion.

"Hmm, interesting. He purposefully lead Sora to believe that they were reborn in other worlds. That way it would keep her distracted in chasing after literally nothing for a short time. Meanwhile, those five will start to wander around to other worlds looking for Sora herself...making it a true game of whom can find them first. Quite the clever plan by taking into consideration of how both sides will move." Maleficent whispered silently to herself, yet her gaze slowly narrowed slightly.

'But I doubt Sora will believe it for long and will figure this out on her own. Or perhaps...' she continuing within her mind, to which she closed both eyes as if to think this over.

However, she didn't get to think much further on it as she turned herself around and glared at the hooded figure standing only a few meters ahead of her. They were in the typical Organization coat, but from their stature, they were a bit younger than any of its current members. "If you're hoping to spy on me...you better do a better job of it in the future." she stated in a firm, yet knowing tone as if noticing the person long ago.

Though said figure didn't speak, Maleficent was still gauging them carefully as to be ready for a possible fight. "Is there something I can help you with?" the witch all but demanded while upturning her her head in a rather imperious way.

"It's come to my attention..." the person began, in a obviously young man's voice; "...that you've taken a bit of Sora's power for yourself."

Maleficent narrowed her eyes heavily upon this person as the grip on her staff tightened slightly; "And what of it?" she questioned, her tone being a very challenging one.

"I'm just curious about the nature of your intent with it. If need be, I can and will take it from you." the man claimed in a very calm manner, which unnerved the witch slightly.

"Is that so?" she hummed out silently, their invisible auras of power slowly becoming visible as great tension vibrated the air around them.

"Well...perhaps I should point Sora in your direction. Since you seem to be so worried about where and how her power should be used, maybe she'll be interested in the little 'experiments' you're conducting. The one you've been perfecting since 'those' three came around." the woman claimed with a small smirk, yet she was clearly bargaining with the man since neither one appeared to want to resort to a fight.

"Hmm...so a stand still?" the figure questioned in a rhetorical manner, to which he placed a gloved finger and thumb to his chin.

Despite his still calm voice, it was clear to Maleficent that he was trying to figure out how she could have known about the 'experiments' she mentioned. However, he just turned around and began heading toward the doors leading out of the hall. "Leaving already?" the woman asked almost mockingly, yet it wasn't blatant enough to warrant a violent response.

"For now...but we'll be in touch very soon." the man claimed as a corridor of darkness appeared in front of him, to which he walked through and vanished once it closed.

Immediately following this, the tension in the room also disappeared, to which Maleficent let out a heavy breath. 'That was definitely the man from Sora's memory, as well as the one I saw just after Ansem defeated me. It was a lucky guess that he really was behind those strange Heartless Sora encountered in that swamp and jungle. But it's even more lucky that the buffoon Pete actually discovered something useful when recruiting that swindler with the self-moving shadow.' she thought to herself silently while closing both eyes.

But as the reopened, she glanced down to her staff's jewel with a narrowed gaze. Said gem holding the image of a sleeping Sora, to which the woman let out a silent breath and headed into the hall once more. Though, just as she was sitting back down Pete finally returned. Yet it was due to being thrown through the doors by an obviously stronger force, which didn't narrow down the list in Maleficent's mind.

The large man groaned silently as he landed rather hard on the floor after this toss, to which he quickly stood up to face the figure following in after him. "You dare to make threats to me?" this person spoke out in a deep and evil voice, his long cloak making it impossible to see his features, especially in the dim light.

"And to make them through such a pathetic and worthless creature like this." he continued while pointing to Pete with what looked like a single skeleton finger.

"Whether the threat is made personally or not...I will kill you if you do not head my orders. And I'm in a particularly foul mood right now, so I would suggest not to test my patience." Maleficent claimed, her not even standing up from her throne as the whole hall started becoming darker.

"I am the ruler here, therefore, if you wish to receive my power and aid...you will obey my word as law!" she announced while her eyes began glowing, to which the room became completely black.

"I will do as I-!" the man began, but was cut short as his form started getting swallowed up by the darkness around him.

"You will obey...or die, is that understood?" Maleficent said in a much calmer tone, yet it was clear she was a mere hair's width away from just killing the man.

Despite being silent for a few brief seconds, the man let out a growling; "Yes." in response.

"Good." the witch whispered as the darkness disbursed and returned the room to normal.

"Now get yourself and the others ready, I want a select few people found in various different worlds. Now go." she ordered before leaning back in her throne slightly.

Despite the feeling of utter rage emanating from the cloaked man, he just turned around and headed out of the room. Meanwhile, it was Pete's turn to breath out a sigh of relief as he looked over to Maleficent with a somewhat thankful gaze. Yet she had her eyes closed and didn't even notice, her appearing to be in deep thought.

'While his request for joining me is simple enough, the fact that his loyalty is so skewed...his usefulness is not as high as he was promising.' she mused silently to herself, Pete having already left and closed the doors once more.

However, since the lock had been broken, they could be easily pushed or pulled open. Not long after these words, the woman slowly took on a small smirk. "Perhaps I shall simply replace him." Maleficent uttered out aloud, yet her voice didn't echo at all.

'Until the right moment however, I'll merely bide my time with whatever traitorous plans he'll make before finally letting Sora destroy him for me. I'm sure there isn't anything she won't do for those friends of hers. In the meantime though, I'll have to keep a very close watch on him, since he knows he cannot defeat me alone. Which means he'll very likely try to turn the others against me as well.' the witch finished, yet her body slowly began to take on a fiery green aura.

"But...first things first." she hummed out while the flames around her began to increase.

"I suppose it's time for me to find those friends of hers." Maleficent continued as she raised her staff into the air.

'The crystal ball could only show me where they were reborn, I'll have to track down where they went afterwards the old fashion way.' the woman mused, to which after almost a half hour of concentration, her eyes fluttered open.

"Perfect." she whispered silently with another small smirk on her features.

This was short lived however, as Pete came stumbling through the doors once more. Though, there was a small storm cloud hovering over him as well; "They've gathered." he said quickly before being struck by a tiny bolt of lightning.

"Ouch~!" he whined out as he rubbed his backside where the electricity hit.

"Good." was all the witch spoke as she stood up and headed to the wide open doors.

"Maleficent~! Please tell them to turn it off~!" Pete called while rushing after her, him trying his best to dodge any further lightning strikes along the way.

The closer to the door the witch got, the sound of laughter from a pair of women became more apparent. This making her let out a heavy breath before coming through the doorway and looking out to the same six people whom had previously gathered for her revival. "Good news." the witch began with a small smirk on her features.

"I know exactly where each of our targets are, and once we have them...we'll have the power of the Keyblade at our beck and call." Maleficent continued while looking from one person to the next.

Hades and Ursula being the more familiar faces, while the other four were the recent additions to the group. Madam Mim, rival of Merlin in sorcery, master of witchcraft and lover of chaos. Magica De Spell, enemy to Scrooge McDuck, user of dark magic and seeker of wealth. Dr. Facilier, smooth talking con-man, wielder of voodoo magic and searcher of riches. The Horned King, self proclaimed ruler of the world, user of necromantic magic and aspirator of godly power.

"And when we do, you'll all get exactly what you desire." the woman finished as each of the six slowly nodded their heads in response.

* * *

 **Well, there's the not so big reveal of the members in Maleficent's group. Lol. Those were the only ones I could think of whom would really figure in the story while also providing something that Maleficent herself would want. But yeah, the one leading the traitors is the Horned King for obvious reasons. And while I didn't fully show exactly what he did to reveal he was a traitor, it's pretty much implied just from his and Maleficent's interaction. So instead of going with a really long scene involving the two fighting with words and magic (as I was originally planning), I wanted a bit more. Mainly to show that there is more going on than just inner turmoil in the group (which is what I made). Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed this and will let me know what you thought. Until next time everyone.**


	26. Hollow Bastion part III

**Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 25: Hollow Bastion part III

"So...yeah, that's about the gist of it." Sora said silently with a small smile and shrug, all while looking to the group gathered in Merlin's house.

Kairi stood beside her friend with a light sigh, it being clear that she didn't completely agree with the other girl's plan. On the other side of said brown-haired teen, Zola was sitting on the floor. Her licking a paw before rubbing it against her face as to clean that area of her fur. The leopard obviously not paying any attention to anything further now that she's understood what it is that Sora wants to do.

Meanwhile, Merlin held a thoughtful gaze as he slowly stroked his beard. Yuffie appeared to be excited at the possibility of joining the group on an adventure for once, yet Leon sent her a quick glance to show that they still had work to do. Despite this however, the raven-haired girl still appeared optimistic about accompanying the others someway or another. But directly in front of Sora, stood Riku and King Mickey as they had come back when hearing about the teens disappearing for almost a week.

"You seriously want us to help Maleficent?" the former of these two questioned as his gaze narrowed slightly on his friend.

"Well...yeah, she did promise to help me out. So it's only right to return the favor, right?" was Sora's response as she smiled softly, her actually appearing to be in a really good mood for some reason.

"I-" Riku began to possibly deny this, yet Mickey spoke up before he had the chance to continue.

"Whom is the target or targets she wants us to defeat?" the mouse king inquired quickly as he tilted his head slightly to the side.

"Apparently it's someone called; 'The Horned King'. He lives in a castle...somewhere within a country called; 'Prydain'. Maleficent made sure to tell me where to find it amongst the many worlds, but she also mentioned that someone else is helping him." Sora explained, to which she slowly turned toward Merlin.

"She said it was someone you've met many times before in the past...some woman named; 'Madam Mim'?" she halfway said, halfway questioned.

However, the old wizard's eyes narrowed upon hearing this name, to which he slowly regained his thoughtful gaze. "I see...so even Maleficent couldn't keep Mim under control." he muttered quietly to himself in an almost disappointed tone.

"That woman never learns." Merlin added with a sigh, him not liking the fact that his old foe has decided to join such dangerous people.

"Well...we don't know much about this 'Horned King', other than what Maleficent herself explained. But...is there anything you can tell us about Mim that might help us beat her in case it comes down to it?" Mickey asked the wizard, to which said man nodded his head and began his explanation.

All the while, Riku stepped up toward Sora and Kairi with his arms firmly crossed. "So then..." he started as if ready to lecture the pair.

"...what did you two do while you were away." the teen finished in a highly suggestive tone that cause both girls to blush.

"We didn't do anything!" Kairi called out, almost sounding relieved when saying this.

The teen's blush deepening greatly before it slowly started fading, her able to regain her composure after a few extra moments. Sora on the other hand, tilted her head down in a comically discouraged manner to the other girl's words. Kairi herself then turned toward the brown-haired teen with a sweat drop, to which she patted her friend gently on the shoulder. "I didn't it mean it like that." she said quickly, after clearing her throat.

As Sora looked to the auburn-haired girl with a puppy-like gaze, she slowly took on a soft smile and nodded. However, this quickly turned to nervousness as a familiar voice and accompanying foot tapping was heard behind her. "Didn't do anything, huh?" Donald muttered, to which the brown-haired teen slowly turned around with a hard gulp.

He and Goofy had just arrived, and were standing in the doorway almost side-by-side. But while the dog had a wide smile on his features, the duck appeared to almost be fuming with frustration as he took a few steps forward. This leading for Sora to take the same number of steps back; "H-Hey..." she hummed out with a nervous chuckle and smile.

Sora then slowly moved behind Kairi as if to hide, but Donald was moving ever closer to her. "...i-it's been a while, huh?" the brown-haired teen finished quickly.

Immediately following these words however, Sora rushed to the side and caused Donald to give chase. The duck letting out a squawking yell as he ran after the teen. Him also screaming out many incoherent claims about the girl's irresponsible actions and how he'll make her pay for making them wait so long. Though Kairi watched this with a soft giggle, Riku simply smirked lightly with a nod. "This really is her element." he whispered silently, to which the auburn-haired girl glanced to him briefly before nodding.

"Yeah...she shines most when with her friends." Kairi added while they continued to watch Donald chase Sora, even when she tried to use Goofy as a shield.

Though Zola did attempt to step in to help the brown-haired teen, she was stopped by Kairi and Riku as they knew it was harmless fun. But even as all this was going on, Mickey and Merlin continued to talk as if not even noticing any of the ruckus going on around them. "Alright, we'll make sure to exploit that." the king said with a nod to the wizard.

Whom returned this gesture as the pair then turned to the scene of Sora crouching down with both arms covering her head. All the while, Donald was whacking her with his staff many times and calling out about all of the heavy lifting Merlin forced them to do. "I said I was sorry~!" the brown-haired teen whined out as the duck finally decided that she had enough.

"Alright then, I guess we should all go to this world in order to give us the best chance of success." Mickey said while stepping forward in order to take charge of the group.

"We're dealing with two magic users...so make sure to keep an eye out for anything strange. And do not let your guard down...since Merlin has mentioned that this 'Madam Mim' doesn't fight fair." the king continued as he looked over to the old wizard briefly when mentioning his warning.

"And if Maleficent's information about the Horned King being a necromancer is correct, then we could encounter some very frightening opponents. So be extra vigilant since we don't want to be surrounded by an entire army of undead within the first five minutes of arriving." he finished, him then glancing to Sora briefly since she was the one whom told him Maleficent's information about the Horned King.

After these words however, each of the people present gave a nod in response as they kept their gaze focused on the anthropomorphic rodent. "Okay, once we land...Kairi and I will use a scanning magic to see what is around us. The two might be expecting Maleficent to send someone to attack, so we'll have to be extra careful. Therefore, no one is to take a single step until we've confirmed that there are no traps or such, alright?" Mickey said in a serious tone, despite his naturally high-pitched voice.

"Once we've done that, it's just a matter of finding their base of operations and defeating them. But if possible, we should also try and gain information about Maleficent's plans...since I doubt she's not up to something." he continued, to which everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

"As for individual roles. Riku, I want you to keep an eye out for-" yet Mickey's voice slowly droned out for Sora as she moved toward Merlin in determination.

Her gesturing to the still open doorway with a hand as if asking to talk more privately. This lead for the pair to head outside, though, not without some of the others noticing. Upon closing the door behind them, Sora let out a silent breath and looked at the old wizard with a hard gaze. "Kairi and I found out that when the Heartless and Nobody of someone are destroyed, they reform the original being. Which means that each of my friends are actually alive, but..." she started silently, making Merlin's eyes widen slightly for a few seconds.

"...we also discovered what I could only describe as...a remnant of my friend Zexion. A remnant of his Nobody that is." Sora continued, to which the old wizard began stroking his beard thoughtfully.

"I see." he whispered with a nod, him trying to think of what this could possibly mean.

However, it didn't take long for him to come to a conclusion, to which he gazed to Sora silently as her seriousness was now making a great deal of sense. "Exactly...if he had one, then the others will as well." the girl said as her voice cracked slightly at the end.

Merlin closed his eyes slowly, the teen's visible and audible shaken demeanor from this implication being almost heartbreaking to look at. "Marluxia...I might have to face him again." Sora whispered, it being clear she was trying to keep her voice and emotions under control this time.

The wizard nodded once more to this, to which he opened his eyes and placed a hand to her shoulder. "That might be true, but you are a great deal more powerful and wiser now. I believe you can confront his remnant and overcome it." he said with great confidence in his tone.

Though Sora gazed at him silently, she slowly nodded in response to his words. However, the look in her eyes continued to show her worry and nervousness for the possible encounter. It bothering her a great deal more than even what she was showing now, but she eventually gained a small smile. "You're right." she started, to which she then cleared her throat.

"But I do have a favor to ask before I leave again. If you do see any sign of my friends, remnant or others, I want you to either summon them to me. Or just summon me here, either one is fine...so long as it's immediately." the teen requested while offering a rather hopeful smile to the man.

"I still have no idea where they could be, but I'm hoping you might be able to help me out by using your powers of foresight to find out where they are." Sora continued in a pleading tone this time.

Merlin just blinked to her before smiling softly and patting the girl on the top of her head. "Of course, I will try to find them as best I can. While the power of darkness clouds my vision a great deal, since they're likely not using it as much as before...I should be able to find them." he said as his tone held great encouragement within it.

"Thank you." the brown-haired girl said softly, yet she quickly turned to the door as it opened to reveal Mickey gesturing for them to come back inside.

"I have your role set up Sora, you're going to be playing a main part. So I'll need you back in here so I can explain exactly what you'll be doing in tandem with everyone else." the mouse continued, to which the teen nodded slowly in response as she and Merlin walked back into the house.

Despite receiving a few curious glances from her friends, Sora just waved a hand and listened closely to the king's words. "Since you've been shown to be able to pick up on magic very easily, I want you to team up with Kairi and I in disenchanting the area if the need arises." he began with a small smile on his features.

"Also, when we get a baring of the surroundings for that world...you will be going with Riku to find the Horned King's castle. Both of you are able to move through the darkness without be effected, so it would be best that you two take the lead in that search." the mouse continued, to which Sora nodded in agreement since she knew this was indeed the smart thing to do.

"Maleficent gave us the warning that the castle itself would be covered in a large amount of darkness. Which she claimed would make it physically impossible for most of us to enter, so I'll have to ask you to move it away so that we can get inside. I have heard from Master Yen Sid that you do have an ability that lets you manipulate darkness...even if it isn't actually your own." Mickey stated while pointing to the teen.

Whom blinked a few times in response, yet slowly nodded her head. There being an obvious question of how much Yen Sid told Mickey, as well as, how did the old master find out in the first place? "As you two are doing that..." the king continued on, him pointing to the side at most of the others.

"...Kairi, Donald, Goofy and myself will be on the look out for any residents of the world and keep them away from the area as best we can. But we'll make sure to join you as quickly as possible, so don't start any fights...alright?" Mickey finished in a somewhat pleading tone at the end.

This lead for the brown-haired girl to simply smile lightly with another nod of her head. "Alright, that sounds good to me." was all she said, but there was a silent meow to her side as Zola sounded a bit perturbed about not being included.

"Oops." Mickey muttered with a sheepish smile.

* * *

 **And there you have it, a dialogue filled chapter with a few big events and hints put in. I hope all of you enjoyed and will like my original work for the next few chapters. As the group heads off to Prydain in order to battle the Horned King, and possibly Madam Mim. ;) Anyway, let me know what you thought...as well as send your prediction of when you think Marluxia's remnant will show up. ;) Until next time everyone.**


	27. Prydain part I

**Sorry for taking the holidays off without actually saying anything. I hope this chapter makes up for it...even though it's just as long as the rest. *Ehem* Anyway, I hope you all enjoy and I hope you had a great holiday and happy new year.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 26: Prydain part I

Sora let out a heavy breath while she and Riku walked through a rather barren forest. Despite the trees still being alive, there were no animals or even insects in sight. This making it so that the only noises being heard were the sounds of their foot steps, and the brief gusts of wind. Which caused some of the trees to sway and creak, giving the impression that one of them might fall over at any moment.

The brown-haired teen and her friend having separated from the others almost immediately after entering the world. Them having landed in an area that the Horned King's enemies controlled, hence there weren't any signs of an evil enchantment anywhere in sight. However, due to the distance from the Horned King's territory, it made Sora and Riku's walk all the longer. Leading for the former to groan and complain most of the way, while the latter merely ignored her.

After a few minutes of the girl's complaints, she decided to just tell her friend about the things she and Kairi had done up till now. "So you're going to be looking for their 'absent silhouettes' as well?" Riku asked with a raised brow to Sora, to which she just nodded.

"Don't you think you're busy enough as it is?" he continued as they continued on their way, the forest slowly becoming darker.

However, this was only due to more cloud cover since it was still only around the middle of the day. At which point, the trees around the pair began thin and appear more rotted. Even after noticing this, Sora just turned to Riku with a small smirk and wink. "Not at all...I find it exciting to have more than one mission at a time. It keeps me on my toes and doesn't let me slack off." she responded while they kept moving.

As Riku opened his mouth to say speak again, a strange gust of wind blew around them. It having a very dark, sinister and evil feel, to which the teens glanced from each other before to the source of this wind. Them seeing a large castle resting on the shoreline of a small peninsula, yet what drew their attention was the black aura emanating from it. This obviously being what Maleficent was talking about, yet along with this, there was also a strange green glow pouring out from the structure.

But as they came closer, the pair noticed that there was a large mass of figures moving out of the castle's gates. "Hey Sora?" Riku muttered out with a blinking gaze, him and the girl finally stopping on a small hill to the side of the castle itself.

"Yeah?" was Sora's response, neither of them looking to one another while speaking.

"Maleficent said he was a Necromancer with that cauldron thin, right?" the silver-haired boy continued as they kept watching the figures slowly growing in numbers.

"Yeah." Sora answered, the pair now baring witness to the thousands of beings moving out of the castle.

"Guess he already managed to get it, huh?" Riku all but groaned out, the pair letting out a heavy breath immediately afterward.

"Yeah." the brown-haired teen repeated silently, to which she and her friend glanced around to the millions upon millions of undead skeletons trudged across the land.

"Great...just when I was hoping to have an easy mission this time." the boy sighed out while summoning his weapon.

"Speaking of...what sort of missions did you go on?" Sora asked with a curious tilt of her head to the side.

"Well, if you didn't complain so much...I probably could have told you." Riku commented, him shrugging his shoulders briefly.

"Oh come on, I was sharing my adventures." the girl claimed back as she pouted lightly toward her friend.

"You could have done the same." she added while bringing forth her own weapon.

Riku raised a brow to her before sighing silently; "Maybe, but then you typically have to make comments midway through." he explained with a roll of his eyes.

"Now that's just mean, I only did that once or twice...and I did apologize." Sora responded, her pout growing more and more.

"Uh-huh." Riku hummed out, yet turned toward the zombies as almost all of them had taken notice of their presence.

"Well then...I guess we should get down to business." he continued, to which both he and Sora moved into their trademark fighting poses.

"You take care of the shield and I'll start getting rid of these zombies?" the girl asked as she glanced around to their many opponents.

"Oh no you don't, I'm not gonna let you handle all the fighting while I get stuck with the boring stuff." the silver-haired teen claimed quickly while turning to his friend.

Whom blinked a few times at first, yet kept listening as he continued on. "You take care of the shield and I'll handle the zombies."

Sora pouted toward him once again before huffing to these words. "You just wanna fight zombies, I know you liked all those zombie movies." she declared, pointing a finger accusingly to him.

"As if you didn't?" Riku retorted, the two continuing their 'argument' until they were pressing their foreheads against one another as if they were bulls.

All the while, the zombies just slowly surrounded the pair without either of them seeming to notice. Yet by the time they did, the two had many spears, swords and axes pointed at their heads. "Guess we'll just have to do both." Riku muttered silently, to which Sora looked to him with an understanding gaze and nod.

Immediately following this, they emitted a strong pulse of dark energy that knocked back all of the skeletons in a ten meter radius. Once they had enough room, Sora jumped forward and began slashing every zombie within her range. Meanwhile, Riku rushed in the opposite direction to do the same, yet his speed appeared somewhat faster than the brown-haired girl's. This lead for the two to lock eyes for a moment, making them take on wide grins and increase their attacks.

The teens now in full 'competition mode' as they started to count each skeleton they struck down. Them moving across the landscape with great speed, yet each assault they made was in perfect unison with the other. Their years of fighting and playing with one another allowed them to know exactly how the other would move.

These two teens using a combination of magic and darkness to destroy a multitude of foes at once, even hundreds in some cases. So despite the sheer number of said undead creatures, it was cut in half within mere moments as the pair kept up their attacks. Each individual zombie being quite weak, making the only threat that they could surround the pair very easily. But thanks to their teamwork, they avoided this and defeated all but a handful after only ten minutes.

Said gathering of undead quickly began retreating back into the castle, even when their movements were rather sluggish. However, Sora and Riku didn't bother with them since the two were now back to arguing. Only now, they were debating about which of them defeated to most zombies and who 'won'.

"You said it yourself that you lost count after four hundred...and I made sure to keep count to seven hundred! So that means I win~!" Sora announced while puffing her chest out proudly, to which Riku huffed and crossed his arms.

"No it doesn't...it just means we both lost count after a while. Meaning there is no winner." the silver-haired teen stated.

"And besides...I know for a fact that I beat more than you, so I would have definitely won if we did keep count." he continued, making his friend puff her cheeks.

"No you wouldn't have!" she claimed in response.

"Would too."

"Would not!"

Would too."

Would not!"

"ENOUGH OF THIS!" a loud voice echoed out from the castle, to which the pair turned toward the source.

This revealing the Horned King as he stood at the window of one of the castle's many towers. His glowing red eyes seeming to pierce through the teens as they gazed up to him in silence. "You dare to come to my domain! Attack my army! And now bicker like children amongst yourselves as if my powers were a mere joke?!" he demanded in anger, frustration and fury.

"I will teach you the true meaning of fear before I crush you both under my feet!" the man continued, his voice sounding more like a growl at this point.

"Well...I mean, I kinda already know. And besides, just because you gave them the dark-magic enchantment of 'fear'...doesn't really make them much of a threat to people immune to darkness like us." Sora responded while shrugging her shoulders.

"So that's what I was feeling when fighting them." Riku added with a slow nod of his head in understanding, yet he clearly wasn't effected by it.

The brown-haired girl returned this gesture as she smirked lightly; "Yeah...it's why I didn't want them to group up on us like at the start. Even if we're immune to the darkness, it would start effecting us after too much exposure...since it's still magic and not straight darkness." she explained, her expression turning into an analyzing one as her friend nodded once more.

"ENOUGH!" the Horn King repeated, his rage obviously building up a great deal.

"Well it's true." Sora muttered with a light pout as she shrugged again.

"Besides...we need to keep you distracted." Riku stated as he took a step forward while locking eyes with the undead king.

"WHAT?!" said man demanded, yet backed up slightly in shock as he saw the aura of darkness around his castle diminish.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" he questioned, his gaze moving from the outside to the inside, as if looking for someone or something.

Once he turned away, Sora turned around and grinned lightly. "Let's storm the castle~!" she called out gleefully, it being a line she's been waiting to say for a while now.

However, immediately following her words, the ground in which the teens fought the zombies on began to radiate darkness. A series of lines began to form and radiate this same energy, to which it took on form and appearance of a magic circle. Sora and Riku having made it during their fight against the army of undead, them figured it was best to do so sooner, rather later. All the while, the Horned King quickly realized what this 'spell' was, making him grind his teeth together. "Curse you Merlin." he growled out before letting out a roar in frustration, to which he moved further inside and disappeared from view.

"How long should this thing last with both of our power?" Riku whispered to his friend, neither of whom turning their gaze away from where the man had once been.

"Merlin's estimation is about fifteen minutes at best...and five minutes at worst. He did say it would be highly experimental considering we just learned it." was Sora's response as they then looked over their shoulders in near unison.

At which point, they saw Kairi, Mickey, Donald and Goofy rushing toward them as quickly as possible. "And if they're caught inside when it gives out?" the silver-haired teen questioned further, their friends still not being close enough to hear.

"He said that the best case scenario would be that they're just forcefully pushed outside without any serious injuries." the girl muttered silently, the two still not looking at one another yet.

"And what about for the worse case?" Riku uttered out as he finally turned to his brown-haired friend.

Whom remained silent as she just watched the group come closer and closer to them. "I actually don't know." she said quietly just before the four came up to the pair.

But rather than greeting his other friends, he remained focused on Sora as he couldn't quite tell if she was telling the truth with her words. This unsettled him slightly, yet he turned to the others with a nod as they then rush into the castle together. Before the brown-haired girl entered however, she held out a hand to the massive circle drawn in the ground. The moment she did, a surge of dark energy funneled into her body. All this happening within just a brief second, allowing her to catch up with her friends without them realizing what she had just done.

'That should give us a few extra minutes...hopefully.' Sora thought to herself as they moved through the rather evil castle.

The group following the strongest source of darkness in order to navigate themselves through the structure. Which lead them into a large hall, where they saw the Horned King standing in the center. A black cauldron being directly in front of him as a thick green mist emanated from the open top. But as the group moved toward him, they almost immediately stopped when they heard the man speaking in his deep and dark sounding voice.

"Come forth divine evil! Unleash your fury upon my enemies and destroy these fools whom dare to oppose me!" he called out in obvious anger.

However, as the six watching this moved a bit closer, they each paused once more as they saw a black figure emerging from the cauldron. Its skin was darker than the night, its form was twice the size of any normal human being. But as a set of wings erupted from its back and a pair of glowing yellow eyes were seen, each of the group became wide-eyed. "Chernabog..." Sora whispered out, to which each of them moved in a fighting pose.

"This isn't good." Mickey said silently under his breath while narrowing his eyes heavily.

* * *

 **Well, there you have it...the return of an interesting foe, whom will have a lot more development. ;) Btw, I was never a huge fan of this movie since I felt the characters were very shallow, but I'm hoping to make it better with what I have planned. ^^ Anyway, let me know what you though...and until next time everyone.**


	28. Prydain part II

**Get ready, this might not go the direction you think it will. ;) Anyway, I hope you all enjoy.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 27: Prydain part II

Sora gazed silently at Chernabog, or at least, a human-sized version of the winged creature. But as it continued to emerge from the cauldron, the Horned King stepped to the side and turned toward the group. "Now you shall feel my wrath." he growled out, to which he then pointed toward the six in front of him.

"Unleash your power and show them...the true meaning of fear!" the Horned King called while slowly moving backward as to get out of the way.

Immediately following this Chernabog slowly looked out to everyone opposing him, to which his solid yellow eyes began to glow. This causing a sudden torrent of wind that started to pull them toward the cauldron, it being so strong that even parts of the castle began to break off and get sucked in. As this happened, Sora brought herself out in front of the other and held her arms out to the sides in order to keep her friends from being pulled forward.

But while she kept each of the five at bay, the strength of the wind was increasing by the second and would obviously overpower the brown-haired teen in time. Upon realizing this, they all started reaching out for things to grab on to. Yet everything crumbled away, regardless of how sturdy it seemed. Which left them to rely on their own, as well as Sora's strength in order to keep themselves from being sucked in. Though, as the brown-haired girl tried to keep everyone back, they all heard the Horned King screaming out to Chernabog.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! THIS WAS NOT WHAT I COMMANDED! YOU DARE TO DEFY ME AS WELL?! YOU WILL PAY DEARLY FOR THIS!"

The undead man also being pulled toward the cauldron, the wind coming in from all angles and didn't seem to be excluding him from its power. However, not long after his threat, the Horned King lost his grip upon the pillar he was clutching. This drew him into the cauldron within seconds, to which a burst of green energy flew out in all directions. The presence of the man seeming to vanish entirely as both he and his powers were gone.

Despite the group being glad that half their mission was complete, they were also pleased that they no longer had to listen to him anymore. But this quickly turned back to desperation as they were starting to slide forward, Chernabog letting out a sound that resembled a strangely dark laughter. This leading for Sora and Riku to immediately unleash a series of attacks upon the being, yet nothing seemed to work. Magic was deflected, shattered or was just useless against the creature as the winds never stopped and only continued to grow stronger.

Even attacks based on Darkness or Light were just absorbed, as if neither was effective against the creature. So after throwing all that they could at Chernabog, the group quickly concluded that they likely weren't escaping this. "What did Maleficent say about getting sucked into the cauldron?!" Riku yelled, the winds blowing them forward being almost deafening.

"Not to do it!" was all Sora responded, her feet digging into the stone floors as she tried with all her strength to keep herself and everyone else from being drawn into the cauldron.

"That's not comforting!" Kairi called out, her being directly behind the brown-haired teen.

"But she did say-!" Sora started, yet didn't finish as one final pull from the winds finally got the better of her and sent all six of them flying into the cauldron.

Each of them letting out a scream in response, most of them not being sure of what was going to happen. Though despite the dire situation, Sora and Riku groaned briefly when they could hear the echoing yells from the Horned King within the darkness of the cauldron. "Doesn't he ever just shut up?!" the latter of the two called in an irritated tone.

After a few moments of falling, the group suddenly felt themselves land on a strange ground. When looking around however, they couldn't see anything except the blackness of the area. Yet as their eyes slowly adjusted to the lack of light, they could finally see the vast landscape around them. The ground feeling very uneven and seemed to have many rocks and sticks covering it. As the group looked over to one another in order to make sure they were all okay, they quickly turned to the side when the heard the Horned King's voice once more.

"YOU SHALL REGRET DOING THIS TO ME! CHERNABOG! YOU WILL FEEL MY-" yet he was quickly cut short as Sora rushed up to him and punched him straight into the 'ground'.

"Oh give it a rest already!" she stated with a groan.

"I'm pretty sure he's not listening, so just shut it already and lower your own 'hype' a bit. Screaming that you'll have your revenge or whatever, but not actually doing anything is extremely lame." the girl continued, to which the Horned King slowly began to get up.

Yet as he opened his mouth to yell at her once more, she just hit her knuckles against his forehead. "Hush now...I'm gonna explain what Maleficent said of how to get out of here. And if you want to escape, I suggest you stay silent...or I'm gonna silence you myself. Understood?" Sora more of stated than asked as her eyes narrowed slightly on the undead man.

Whom growled silently in response to this, yet he remained quiet as the brown-haired girl nodded and turned back to her friends. "Now then, Maleficent said that if worst comes to worst...and we are pulled into the cauldron, there are two ways of getting out." she started while moving closer to the others and away from the Horned King.

"The first is..unfortunately..impossible now, as it requires someone on the outside to help us. Therefore, our only way of escape is to gather up enough counter magic to basically destroy the cauldron itself." Sora explained, to which everyone but the undead king nodded their heads in agreement.

"Do you think I'd let you do such a thing? The black cauldron is the source of my power and the only way I shall rule over the worlds." the Horned King claimed, his voice and tone sounding much more calm now.

"Oh come on, none of us are getting out otherwise...so you'll just have to suck it up." the brown-haired girl said while shrugging her shoulders.

"I think not." the man claimed as he held his right hand out to the side, this causes a series of green wisps to gather around him.

Upon seeing this, each of the six moved to a fighting ready pose as they weren't sure of what he was doing. "As I said, the cauldron is the source of my power...so by being inside it when it's destroyed, I too would die. But since I am inside...I am now at my most powerful." he continued, his body actually regaining normal flesh.

Even his red cloak seemed to grow armor, and a large staff was created in his outstretched hand. "I think now is the time for me to raise my 'hype', isn't it?" the Horned King claimed in a confident, yet slightly less deep voice.

However, it retained all of its evilness as his new form was that of a rather muscular man, while his clothes appeared like a real king's. The main colors being deep red and black, yet his armor was a dark grey. Though, despite now having real flesh, his face was hidden behind a skull-shaped mask that was a dull shade of white. "As well as time for all of you to die!" he exclaimed while slamming his staff down on the ground.

This created a burst of magic that knocked each of the six back, just as they were about to rush in to stop his regeneration. Immediately following this, the man then summoned a long sword in his free hand and slowly moved toward the group. "You stood there mocking me and my strength." he started silently, his body taking on a green glow.

"Now what do you think?" the Horned King questioned, the aura around him quickly spreading out as the entire landscape was lit up in a green light.

This showing everyone that the ground under their feet was actually huge piles of bones that stretched out beyond what they could see as a 'horizon'. What they previously thought were rocks were in fact skulls, while that they believed to be sticks were various limb bones. And while many of them gasped to this sudden reveal, they quickly returned to the situation at hand. The Horned King raising his staff and summoning dozens of massive fireballs over his head. Each of which were five meters across, and were immediately hurled toward the group.

Despite Sora, Kairi, Mickey and Donald using a combined Reflect spell, it was shattered completely by only the third attack. All six pairs of eyes widened to this, as they swiftly had to dodge away from the remaining balls of fire, which almost seemed to track them. Yet as Sora glanced toward the Horned King, she could see him moving toward Riku with his sword at the ready. The silver-haired teen noticed his approach however, and managed to block his opponent's heavy downward swing. Upon doing so, the teen was almost instantly knocked backward from the force of the man's slash. Forcing him to stab his blade into the many bones in order to try and stop himself, but it did little to slow his momentum.

All the while, Kairi moved toward the group's foe and held out her magic staff. "Blizzaja!" she called out loudly.

In the same moment she said this, a gigantic burst of ice magic erupted from the girl's weapon and seemed to consume the Horned King. However, a pillar of green energy blasted the ice away and revealed the man completely unharmed. "Fourth Tier magic...impressive for one so young." he commented silently while slashing at the air with his sword.

This created an arch of green magic that sped toward Kairi, yet the girl couldn't get out of the way fast enough on her own. Mickey having rushed up to Kairi and got her away from the attack, but not without his tail getting briefly singed by the arch of energy himself. "Now I wish we just took him out when we had the chance." the auburn-haired girl muttered silently, her narrowing both eyes on the man before casting Curaga on the mouse's tail.

Meanwhile, the Horned King blocked Goofy's shield, despite it being surrounded in multiple different types of magic that Donald had cast on it. Immediately following this however, he then raised up his blade and blocked a slash from Sora. Said teen's eyes being narrowed as if waiting for the shock-wave of her superhuman strength. However, her eyes widened heavily as not only did nothing happen, but her strength felt as if it was being sucked out of her. This actually increasing the longer her blade remained connected with his, causing the girl to quickly jump back. She then narrowed her gaze once more as she briefly looked to her now shaking hands, before to the Horned King.

"What did you just do?" Sora questioned quickly, her taking a preemptive step backward when the man took one forward.

"Did you believe I wouldn't take precautions against you? The precious pet Maleficent seems so keen on getting over on her side." the Horned King questioned, his tone making it clear of his hate toward the evil witch.

Upon noticing this fact, Sora just took on a small smirk as a plan formulated in her mind. This led for her to slowly take on a grin and raise her Keyblade straight up into the air. "Lets find out how much precaution you took." she hummed out as several portals opened over her head.

"Meteors of heaven...unleash thy fury." the girl finished, to which the Horned King's eyes flashed red from behind his mask.

Following these words, many meteorites flew out from each of the portals and straight toward Sora's foe. But despite the speed of each one, they appeared to disintegrate into sand as an orb of green magic surrounded the Horned King. Immediately after seeing this, everyone's gaze narrowed as they could see the jewel on the man's staff glowing while this sphere protected him from harm. Each of them took note of this, as it was something Kairi was also attempting to discover with her own attack. But now that it was confirmed, they all had an idea of the sort offensive and defensive abilities the Horned King held.

"That should level the playing field." Sora whispered to herself as the portals overhead disappeared.

"Does it now?" the Horned King questioned as a pulse of green energy flowed out of his staff and entered the bones under all of their feet.

Though nothing appeared to happen at first, as Riku was about to jump in and attack the man from behind, he found that his feet wouldn't move. Of which he quickly saw were being held down by the many bones, to which his eyes widened heavily. This being in both shock and a bit of horror, since they were surrounded by demented skeletons that all seemed to be coming to life. These not only grabbing at his feet, but also his legs and arms in order to pin him down.

However, the silver-haired boy was fighting back as best he could by smashing the bones with his weapon of powers of darkness. Yet much of his efforts were in vain as the skeletons would simply reform with the nearly limitless other bones around him. Upon seeing this, each of the others' eyes widened once more in near terror as millions of skeletons began to rise up from the bone covered ground.

"This is my playing field...you're merely the sacrificial pawns." the Horned King growled out, him just watching the countless skeletons surround the group individually.

No matter how many they destroyed, more would take their place. No matter the power they used, they never stopped coming. No matter how much they tried...they couldn't get away.

"Now die like the foolish creatures you are in thinking that I was someone you could push aside. I am the God of this world and all will bow to my power!" the man almost ordered as his eyes narrowed from behind his mask.

"No..."

* * *

 **There you have it. How will the group get out of this? Who was that at the end? And how the hell did the Horned King suddenly become a threat to our heroes? Lol, well...that last one was explained, but we'll see about the other two next time. ;) I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and let me know what you thought of it. Until next time.**


	29. Prydain part III

**Sorry this is a day late, I was pretty busy this week and didn't get much chance to work on it. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter as it's basically the finale to the 'Prydain' arc.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 28: Prydain part III

"No..." a voice whispered out from the side, to which the Horned King glanced in this direction.

But immediately following this single word, a burst of red and white power erupted out from the bones that had been burying the group. As the energy flew outward, the man had to used another magic shield to keep the bone debris away from him. It also allowed him to watch the figure of Sora rise up from the bones and move toward him. However, the power flaring around her made it impossible to see the teen properly, all while giving her friends enough time to escape the skeletons.

Upon doing so, the girl then seemed to just disappear from sight as a blur of red flew by the Horned King. Whom turned around quickly as his shield shattered apart as if it were glass, causing his eyes to widen from behind his mask. After turning to face the teen, whom was standing a few meters away, his gaze widened a bit more. The girl's normally black clothes were now red with white lining, as well as having black tribal-like markings on her half-dress. Though her hot pants, as well as parts of her jacket and boots kept a bit of their black coloring, they too took on a more red theme.

All the while, a powerful red aura surrounded Sora as she let out a silent breath. Her slowly opening both eyes, which had previously been closed, revealing them to have become a shade of crimson. Along with this, the teen's pupils were now slits as she gazed to the man in a very harsh manner. "No more holding back." she whispered silently, yet very seriously.

"She was still holding back?" Riku muttered silently with a sweat drop, him and the others having watched the teen destroy thousands of skeletons with her previous powers.

"I guess so." Kairi answered, her chuckling softly as she just looked from Riku to Sora.

Said girl holding out both hands as her Keyblade began to glow, to which she then jerked her hands back down in a swift manner. Instantly afterward, her weapon transformed into the Oblivion Keyblade, while the Oathkeeper Keyblade appeared in her free hand. This made many blink in response, yet they didn't have much time to think about what was going on as Sora vanished once more. The girl reappearing a split second later directly in front of the Horned King, to which she instantly slashed down at him with one of her weapons.

Despite the quickness of her speed, the teen's opponent still managed to lift his blade up to block. However, the man's gaze at Sora suggested that he was expecting her to back off, considering what happened before. But she neither slowed down, nor retreated. If anything, her swing just sped up even more in the brief moment it took for the Horned King to lift his sword. Upon locking blades, the man appeared confident as he knew his weapon would begin draining the girl's strength.

Yet his confidence quickly turned to shock when the force of her attack didn't appear to be weakening. Nor did he feel the girl's strength being weakened, as it should have been. It was only now that his gaze left the teen's eyes to look at her weapon, which she was no longer holding. This showing him what everyone else had seen, that she used her massive power to swing her blade and then released it at the last second. Which allowed Sora to forgo his attempts to drain her strength, while still delivering a powerful blow.

The Horned King noticeably staggered from this impact, to which he growled silently as he was actually having to try now. But the girl's attack wasn't over as she flipped her other Keyblade in a reverse grip during the first swing. She then threw her second weapon toward the Horned King with equal, if not even greater strength than before. This leading for the man to lower his blade in order to block the girl's second strike.

Despite doing so, he was knocked off balance even further. Of which allowed Sora to grab his staff while he was falling backward, to which she pushed her red aura around it and caused the scepter to shatter in her grip. The Horned King's eyes widened from behind his mask, yet he then let out a roar in frustration and slashed at the girl the moment he regained his footing. However, the teen was already standing five meters to the side, both weapons being resummoned into her hands.

Her actions caused the skeletons that were starting to move toward the group, crumble back to the ground as the spell's catalyst had been destroyed. But despite the teen knowing it was only a temporary fix, she and the others knew they could used this information to their advantage going forward. "Valor Form. The accumulation of all my powers, funneled into my physical strength alone." Sora explained silently with a small smirk.

"It's a feature these clothes have. I was told, that when my will allows it...these clothes will respond by directing all of my powers into a single aspect. Raising it roughly ten times greater than normal...possibly even more the stronger I get." she continued, to which her friends nodded slowly in understanding.

Yet, it merely made the Horned King growl in response while holding out his hand and reforming his staff. "And you think placing all of your power into your physical strength will be enough to stop me?" he demanded in a rhetorical manner.

"Well, this is the only form I've been able to do so far without messing up. So...maybe?" Sora said in a sheepish tone, causing most of her friends to almost fall over while groaning.

"You dare to mock me again?!" the Horned King roared out, his rage making his blood boil at this point.

"Not really 'mock', so much as...showing you the pecking order." Sora stated with a confident smirk, to which she bent her knees and readied to move.

"I WILL SHOW YOU THE 'PECKING ORDER'!" the man calling out in anger, him raising his staff once more as it began to glow a bright green.

This causing the bones to begin moving once more as they formed into strange, and highly deformed skeletons again. However, the crystal at the top of his scepter suddenly shattered, causing the bones to just fall back to the ground. The thing that destroyed it this time was a quick beam of darkness from Riku's Keyblade. This made the Horned King turn to the teen quickly, whom just smirked to him with a shrug. "You didn't forget that you're fighting all of us, did you?" he asked with his own confident tone.

Immediately following his words, Mickey suddenly jumped over his head with his Keyblade pointed at the group's shared foe. The mouse then sent a series of lightning spells toward the Horned King, to which said man barely managed to block these attacks. Him reforming the crystal on his staff, a split second before he would have been struck. Yet in his rush, the shield generated was a great deal weaker than the previous ones. Making it quickly shattered after the last bolt of lightning hit its surface. Which then allowed Donald and Goofy to rush forward, sending their own unique attacks toward the Horned King as well.

The former's taking the form of three Blizzaga spells in a triangle shape, while a bolt of lighting appeared to hold them together while shooting at his foe. Meanwhile, the latter's strike was merely throwing his shield with great strength. Though it was clear from how the dog ran in the same direction, he had further plans than the simple throw. But the Horned King thought nothing of it as he deflected the shield with his blade, and then used his staff to form another barrier against Donald's attack.

Immediately following this, Goofy caught his shield in midair and held it up over his head. At which point, the lightning that seemed to disburse from Donald's magic, gathered around his ally's shield. This creating a surge of electricity on the defensive weapon, to which Goofy then slammed it against the Horned King's barrier. The burst of lighting from the impact caused the man's spell to shatter once more. This made him grind his teeth in frustration while quickly turning toward the dog.

Goofy however, just jumped back into the air and threw his shield once more. But as the Horned King raised his sword up enough to block the incoming strike, his eyes widened from the sight of Riku being directly in front of him with an attack ready. The man only having a split second to react as he moving his blade back down and blocked Riku's slash. But this also let Goofy's shield him him directly in the chest, his barrier not raising quickly enough.

The impact had only briefly knocked him backward, yet not much else since it wasn't an overly strong throw by his standards. Goofy quickly caught his shield as it bounced back, to which he leapt backward in order to create some distance between him and his foe. All the while, the Horned King simply turned to Sora as if knowing she was the biggest worry. Though, oddly enough, she just standing to the side for seemingly no reason. Despite the man knowing she was up to something, he didn't get to dwell on it as he quickly realized that someone was missing. Even then however, he still didn't have a chance to think any further as Riku blasted his barrier with a heavy amount of dark power.

It causing his shield to crack heavily, yet it didn't break since he had a few extra moments to gather his strength and concentration. But it did shatter soon after Mickey's quick slash across the top of it, to which the Horned King growled in even more frustration as the numbers were starting to catch up to him. This making his defenses very weak, now that the group knew how they worked and how to defend against his attacks. One of which he attempted once more as he sent a pulse into the countless bones under them, to which millions of skeletons began to rise up.

However, within a matter of seconds, they fell back down when the gem on the Horned King's staff was destroyed by a combined effort of Donald and Goofy. The duck having used a Firaga spell that hit the man in the back, allowing Goofy to rush forward and slam his shield onto the staff. This also cracking the staff itself, but it went unnoticed by the Horned King as he unleashed a powerful aura that knocked the four backward.

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS! NO MORE GAMES! I WILL KILL EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU NOW!" he exclaimed angrily, his aura increasing greatly until it was like an inferno of green wisps.

"Yeah...I guess it is time to end this." Sora whispered while narrowing her eyes.

She then glanced over to Donald with a wink and smirk, to which she just slowly started walking forward. Yet as the Horned King held out his staff to create another barrier, one didn't appear as the crack in the staff didn't let the crystal's power flow properly. This only taking a brief moment for the man to notice and fix, but it was enough for Donald to then hold up his staff. His action causing a sudden burst of Blizzaga magic to cover the Horned King and encased much of his body in ice.

This shocking the man greatly, yet the realization of Goofy's shield also gathering Donald's Blizzaga spells came too late. The Horned King not even managing to break free of the ice before Sora was already right in front of him and begin hitting her opponent with great force. Each swing causing a large percussion wave that shook the bones under them, as well as the air itself. However, it was the impacts against the Horned King that were truly intense as they shattered his armor, ripped his clothing, and even destroyed both his weapons. The sword completely breaking from under the severe strength of Sora's blades, while the staff was reduced to splinters from her first attack.

As the teen continued her assault, the Horned King could only scream out in pain from each hit. Him not being able to defend against such fast and strong strikes, especially not without his weapons. Though, as quickly as her onslaught began, it suddenly ended when Sora lunged with her left Keyblade and sent the man flying backward. Him bouncing and rolling across the bones as he slowly, yet painfully stood back up to his feet. "You definitely have a great deal of pride...I'll commend you for that." Sora said silently, but also completely honestly.

"I-I...am..the Horned..King! I..will become..a God." the man stated firmly, despite barely being able to speak properly from behind his heavily cracked mask.

"Maybe you would have been able to...but not anymore." the brown-haired girl stated before slowly stepping to the side.

This making the Horned King's eyes widen as this revealed Kairi holding out both her staff and free hand toward him. There being a large ball of light in front of her as the auburn-haired girl's body was glowing pure white. "Farewell." she whispered softly, her taking in a deep breath and closed both eyes.

"Infinity." Kairi spoke out almost breathlessly, to which the ball of light suddenly turned into seven beams.

All of which spread out at first before heading directly for the Horned King at the same time. Said man unable to do anything accept stand there and watch as the light overtook him, completely destroying his existence. The only thing that could be heard was the echoing of his screams as it slowly trailed off until silence surrounded the group. That was until Sora turned to her friends and just smiled lightly; "I'd say that went well." she claimed in a rather proud manner.

The others just let out a sigh and looked to the sides, causing the brown-haired teen to pout. "Aw come on, we weren't in 'that' much trouble." the girl said while shrugging her shoulders.

"Speak for yourself...he was about as strong as Ansem was." Donald commented with a huff, him crossing both arms.

Sora was about to say something, yet just closed her mouth briefly and let out a silent breath. "Okay...fair enough." she hummed out silently, to which she looked to the others.

"But you can't deny...this transformation is pretty cool, right?" the teen continued as she spun around to show off her clothes.

Despite most of them slowly nodding in agreement, they still didn't appear fully convinced. This making Sora pout once more, yet it quickly vanished as a loud cracking noise was heard all around them. But before they could question what was happening, the group suddenly found themselves standing on the shoreline of a peninsula. It taking them a few seconds to realize that the Horned King's castle was gone, as if it was completely erased.

"Welcome back." a familiar voice spoke up from the side.

* * *

 **And there you have it, the Horned King is defeated, we got our first look at the Drive Forms Sora has and how they work in my story. So, I hope all of you enjoyed and will let me know what you thought in a review. Until next time everyone.**


	30. Prydain part IV

**Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 29: Prydain part IV

The moment Sora and her friends were sucked into the black cauldron, Madam Mim slowly emerged from the shadows of the upper level. This elder woman being quite ugly in appearance with shoulder-length, purple hair and green eyes. She wore a purple shirt, similarly colored shoes, as well as a crimson skirt and pink bloomers.

Madam Mim just grinned lightly with her old features while watching Chernabog slowly disappear. His summoner having vanished, so there was no longer any power to hold him there. Yet the witch simply disregarded the cauldron entirely and moved further into the castle; "He he, you just made this so much easier." she chuckled to herself along the way.

As the woman went, she glanced around the architecture of the castle in order to watch it naturally crumble a bit more. Her being the only living being in sight while moving into the main hall, where the Horned King's throne was located. "About time my efforts were rewarded." Mim commented silently as she moved to the throne and destroyed it with a burst of fire from her hand.

This showed a tunnel that led down into the floor as a powerful darkness emanated from within it. The old witch took on a grin while going into the underground passage, to which she came upon a large hall-like room. There being a large sphere made of crystal that rested atop an ornate pedestal and contained a swirl of dark power. "The Cornerstone of Darkness...my efforts have finally paid off." Madam Mim whispered, her rubbing both hands together in a highly plotting manner.

"Now I'll be able to best that old bungler of a wizard." she continued while gaining a devious grin upon her features.

"So 'that's' why you betrayed my order?" Maleficent's voice echoed out softly from behind the other woman.

"Ha! As if I was ever apart of your order. I was only there for my own reasons. And now that I've got what I want, I'd say it went all according to..." Madam Mim started, yet trailed off as she never actually turned to look at the horned witch.

It being as if she didn't even realize that she was no longer talking to herself. But the moment she had, Mim quickly turned around to face Maleficent with a shocked gaze. However, the woman wasn't alone as both Pete and Ursula were on either side of her. "M-Maleficent! W-What are you doing here?" Madam Mim asked quickly in a somewhat nervous tone.

"Sorting out the traitors." was all Maleficent answered with as she moved toward the cornerstone.

"As well as taking a look at this." the witch continued, her holding out a hand as if to physically sense how much power was radiating from the crystal.

"I would hazard a guess that the Horned King found this by happenstance, but didn't know of its true power. Yet understood enough to know that he could keep those embedded with Light out of his castle. It's been something I've been searching for, and now that the Horned King is gone. I'd say it's a good way of paying me back for his betrayal." she mused aloud before looking over to Madam Mim with a small smirk.

"Wouldn't you agree?" Maleficent added in a confident tone, yet Mim's eyes quickly became defiant.

"Absolutely not...I found it first. And I went through the trouble of tricking both you and him in order to get it." she claimed in response while narrowing her gaze, to which she sent a quick glance to the other two in the room.

"Oh~?" the horned witch hummed out, her raising a brow slowly in question.

"And how did you come to find out that the Horned King had this in his castle?" she continued, turning fully to Mim.

Whom just smirked lightly, but kept her eyes focused on Maleficent the whole time. "I don't need to tell you my methods." she stated in a firm tone.

This lead for Maleficent to simply look at the other woman in silence, yet she eventually began to chuckle softly. "A 'method', huh? So it was something you foresaw, meaning you've been keeping some of your abilities hidden...smart." the witch mused in a knowing manner.

Though Madam Mim didn't verbally answer, her eyes narrowed for a split second and basically confirmed these words in their own way. "Although, if that's the case...then what exactly is it you were looking for when you foresaw the Cornerstone? Greater power? A way to defeat Merlin?" Maleficent questioned in a rhetorical way.

"Perhaps both. So you decided to join my order so that you could get closer to the Horned King." the woman continued while tilting her head up in a thoughtful manner.

"You predicted that he would betray me and leave you open to steal the Cornerstone, once he was taken out of the picture." she said silently, her tone sounding actually somewhat impressed.

"But how did you get him to trust you?" Maleficent finished as she moved her head down in order to look at Madam Mim once more.

Said woman just smirked lightly as she placed both hands upon her hips; "Who said I did? He didn't trust anyone, including me. But that made it really easy to sneak around inside of his castle since he had the confidence to believe he would notice something amiss." Mim claimed with a wider smirk curling her old lips.

"But who would expect a small fly in a place like this, when it's filled with dried up corpses?" she continued while chuckling a bit deviously.

"They're so easy to fool after all." Madam Mim added, glancing toward Pete for a brief second from over her shoulder.

"Who? Humans?" the large cat asked, his eyes blinking a few times in question.

"Men." Mim responded in a light laugh, making both Maleficent and Ursula join in.

Though Pete groaned to this, he remained mostly silent since he was just waiting for Maleficent to continue on. Of which she did when she made a quick gaze over to the Cornerstone behind her; "But getting back on track, I think if you're willing to help out a bit more in my cause...I can assist you in yours." the horned woman stated while slowly taking on a small smile.

"As I said before, I was only apart of your order because of what I wanted to do and get. So unless you have something even greater to offer, I'd say that there is no reason to join forces with you." Mim declared in an almost proud manner.

"Are you really saying that? Even after witnessing the power of the Keyblade for yourself on more than one occasion?" Maleficent questioned with a raised brow, to which the room became silent almost instantly.

Madam Mim actually appeared afraid for a few seconds as she looked to the Cornerstone for a few long moments. It being obvious she was weighing her options of fighting the three to get the Cornerstone of Darkness for herself, or accepting Maleficent's offer and give it up...for now. After a while, the elder woman just let out a breath and shrugged her shoulders. "Fine fine...you win. I'll accept your offer for the time being." she responded, finally breaking the long silence.

"Excellent." Maleficent whispered, to which she tapped her staff on the floor.

This created an echo that was heard through the hall-like cavern, yet it quickly stopped when all of them were suddenly within her castle in Hollow Bastion. Madam Mim looked around quickly with a blinking gaze before turning back to the horned witch. "What about the Cornerstone?" she asked, yet the look in her eyes suggested that she already had an idea of what happened.

"I transported it along with us...just to a different location." the woman responded silently, to which she and Mim shared a long stare of whose gaze would give away the most.

However, after a few moments, Maleficent spoke up once more as she turned away. "Now then, the Horned King's castle has probably started collapsing by now...so I shall go and see how our little 'heroes' are doing." she hummed out in an almost taunting tone for the group trapped inside the black cauldron.

Immediately following these words, the woman vanished in a burst of green fire. This lead for Madam Mim to let out a silent 'Tch!' out of frustration and annoyance. Her figuring that Maleficent must have taken the Cornerstone of Darkness to a place that no one, but her, can reach. Which would make things a bit more difficult for her, though, not as bad as they could be. All the while, Ursula just watched the other witch with a hard gaze before turning toward Pete. "Hurry up and make yourself useful already!" she ordered, making the large cat jump a bit in surprise before running off with a 'Yes Ma'am!'.

Once he was gone however, the two remaining women looked to one another and narrowed their gazes slightly. "I have a proposition for you." Ursula began with a devious grin.

"Maybe we can both get what we want while leaving everyone else in the dust." she continued, to which Mim looked to her with a raised brow in suspicion.

But after a brief couple seconds, the elder witch slowly smirked and crossed her arms. "I'm listening."

Meanwhile, Maleficent appeared directly in front of the only thing remaining of the Horned King's castle, the black cauldron itself. The witch looking to it with a raised brow as she was waiting for something to happen, yet nothing seemed to occur. This making her sigh lightly in annoyance while narrowing both eyes on the cauldron. "Come on Sora, I taught you better than this...you better make it out of there." she whispered silently, yet it was unclear if her tone was one of concern, or simple aggravation.

Not long after her words however, the cauldron suddenly began to crack. Which lead for the woman to smirk lightly and take a few steps back, to which black metal fragments shot out in every direction as the cauldron appeared to be destroyed from the inside. Immediately following this, Sora, Kairi, Riku, Mickey, Donald and Goofy all appeared where the 'pot' had once been. "Welcome back." she hummed out, to which each of the six turned quickly toward her.

"Glad to see you made it out, and by defeating the Horned King no less." the witch continued, yet her words seemed to be directed at Sora alone.

Her lack of interest in the others showing quite well, and caused the other five to simply sigh in response. But Maleficent paid them no mind as she took a step toward Sora while holding out her hand. "I suppose you're deserving of this. I do hope you make good use of it, as well as good use to me." she stated in an obviously manipulative way.

Though, Sora just smirked and took the woman's hand as they appeared to have a bizarre understanding of one another. Something no one else seemed to comprehend since they should, for all intents and purposes, be bitter enemies. "We'll see." was all the teen responded with as a soft glow emanated from their hands.

Once this died down, the two shared a quick nod, released one another's hands and took a step back. "Until next time." Maleficent whispered, to which she disappeared in a burst of green fire.

The brown-haired girl slowly smirked to this, yet turned to her friends and took on a small smile. "She just showed me a vision of where Larxene is right now." she claimed, her tone being a strange mix of ecstatic enthusiasm and sheepishness.

Each of the girl's friends blinked a few times to this as they knew how much this meant to Sora. So it was strange that she appeared almost hesitant about going to find Larxene. "Although..." the brown-haired teen continued on, her tone reflecting this hesitation.

Upon hearing this in Sora's voice, the other five looked at her with a raised brow in question. Them all wanting to know what was so bad that the teen would stall so much, despite how much she wants to see her friends again. "...she is in a world we've been to before, it's just..." she continued, but slowly trailed off as everyone was now inching a bit closer in order to keep listening.

"Yes~?" Kairi hummed out, her being interested in what her friend was trying to get at.

"W-Well..." Sora stuttered out as she scratched the back of her neck.

"'Well'. What?" Riku asked in a somewhat impatient manner.

"She's..." the brown-haired teen started again, to which she took in a deep breath and looked around to everyone.

"She's at my house." Sora finally finished, causing everyone to blink many times at her in a mixture of exasperation and shock.

* * *

 **And there you have it, we're heading back to Destiny Islands after all this time. Get ready for some very interesting interactions. ;) Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed and will let me know what you thought in a review. Until next time everyone.**


	31. Destiny Islands part I

**Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 30: Destiny Islands part I

Sora stood in a firm pose as she gazed silently at the door in front of her, to which she let out a heavy breath after a few moments. The teen sounding almost exasperated while doing so, her then closing both eyes as if to compose herself. Not long after reopening her eyes and slowly opening the door, she made a somewhat silent announcement. "I'm home~."

However, despite the softness of Sora's voice, the girl's vision suddenly went dark as arms wrapped around her head. Her face instantly being pushed into what felt like someone's chest, yet she didn't make any move to get away. "Mom..." Sora started in a muffled manner.

"...choking, not breathing." she continued, to which the teen's vision quickly came back when the arms released her.

This revealing a woman, whom for all rights appeared like an older and taller version of Sora herself. The only differences was that fact that her own brown hair was straight, as well as being only shoulder length. All the while, the woman's clothing was a simple green dress, which had beautiful floral pattern on it. "Sorry sweetheart, but you've been away for so long~!" the woman whined out in a somewhat childish manner, all while pulling Sora back into a hug.

Said teen simply allowed it as this embrace was more tolerable, but she quickly jerked away when a voice was heard from the side. "Now I see where you get it all from."

Sora turned to the source of these words and saw a very smug-looking Larxene. The blond still looking the same with the Organization's coat, but her demeanor was far more calm and restrained. Yet while the teen's mother released her daughter once more, Sora had caught onto what the older girl was referring to. "I see...so you've made her mad as well." she hummed out silently, yet both she and Larxene shivered briefly in unison.

"Yeah...I was being really difficult with her and wasn't listening to what she had to say. So she really let me have it." the blond muttered silently, to which Sora nodded slowly in understanding.

All the while the older woman huffed at them both and crossed both arms under her rather large chest. Which was about twice the size of either Sora's, or Larxene's. "I only get mad when the need arises. And 'that'...or not doing the dishes for the third week in a row constitutes making me mad." she claimed silently, but the two other girls in the room simply nodded their heads in response.

"Anyway~..." the brown-haired woman continued on, her tone being a great deal more cheerful.

"...I've heard from Arlene here that you two are really good friends, and that you met off island." she said with a gesture toward Larxene.

Sora blinked to this a few times, her looking at the blond with a curious tilt of her head to the side. But she quickly understood what this meant and took on a small smirk. 'So that's her real name, it's kinda pretty.' she thought to herself, nodding at her mother's words.

"Yep~! Riku, Kairi and I finally reached new places on that raft, as well as met lots of interesting people." Sora explained with a smile on her features.

The girl's mother took notice of her use of words, yet just smiled back and glanced from one teen to the other; "Are you two dating?" she suddenly questioned, causing the pair to blink and flush deeply.

"W-What? N-No!" they called out in unison, which only made the woman laugh in response.

"Aw, no need to be embarrassed, it's perfectly healthy after all." Sora's mother claimed happily, making the other two just blush even more.

"Though...I thought you were really determined on asking Kairi out." she continued with a thoughtful gaze up at the ceiling.

"Unless...you're planning on dating more than one person at a time." the woman hummed out in a teasing way.

"Oh Sora...you vixen you." she finished as a wide grin curled her lips.

"I-I'm not dating anyone~! Much less two people at a time~!" Sora began quickly, her flush spreading to cover the entirety of her face.

"N-Not that I wouldn't mind it." she added in a whisper before huffing toward her mother.

"But I'm not with anyone yet~!" the girl almost whined out in an equally childish fashion as her mother had not long ago.

At this, the blond teen glanced between the two for a few moments before slowly taking on a small smirk. "You two really are family." she hummed in a silent mutter, chuckling lightly immediately afterwards.

Sora slowly turned her gaze to Arlene before over to her mother while they shared a small smile. Though after a few moments the older woman glanced to the side with a somewhat expecting look. "Actually...where are Kairi and Riku? They were with you in coming back here, right?" she questioned, to which the teen's mother then turned back to her daughter with a raised brow.

"They both went back home. Riku's checking in with his parents, while Kairi is checking in with the mayor." Sora responded with a quick shrug of her shoulders.

Despite blinking a few times in confusion, the brown-haired woman smirked lightly. "Oh yeah, you weren't here. Kairi's guardian isn't mayor anymore. The vote for a new one was made just a few months ago, so now Riku's father is the mayor again." she explained with a soft giggle.

"Really? That makes them even with how many times they've been elected as mayor...again." Sora said, a sweat drop developing while an exasperated expression formed on her features.

For which, the teen's mother just nodded her head in response while chuckling. "Well...this time, they even tried to get me in on the running. But I just told them that they'll have to wait until they tie with my record for me to consider it." she claimed in a proud and playful manner.

This made both mother and daughter giggle to themselves as they shared this competitive trait. All the while, Arlene simply sighed silently as she looked the two over for a few moments. Her appearing to be mildly shocked at how much alike they were, while somehow feeling like she should have known already. Though, Sora soon turned to her with a small smirk and made a gesture that showed they would talk in secret in order to exchange stories. But as the teen's mother glanced between them, a brief reflection of sun caught her eye off the refrigerator from the kitchen.

"Oh...that reminds me." she started while going into this other room and coming back with an all too familiar note.

It having been hanging on the fridge, likely this whole time as the woman held out the note to Sora as she frowned slightly. "Would you mind explaining why the only thing you left me over a year ago, was this?"

 _'Sorry for the suddenness, but Riku, Kairi and I are going out on an adventure tonight. We'll try to be back as soon as we can._

 _Love you Mom.'_

The teen's mother said word for word, her not even looking at the note when saying this. It being obvious that she must have read this note many times, hoping that her daughter would come home one day soon. This made the brown-haired teen blink many times while taking the note into her hands, to which she simply hugged her mother. "I'm really sorry mom, I didn't think I would be away for so long." the girl claimed in an honest tone.

Despite the woman looking to her daughter with a suspicious gaze, she eventually smiled softly and returned the embrace. "Alright, I'll forgive you. But if you plan to stay away for more than just a day...I expect you to tell me in person. Okay?" she whispered while the pair continued to hug one another.

"Deal." Sora answered with a small smile, her feeling happy to be back home, despite the girl's initial reluctance.

However, this feeling quickly surged back immediately following her mother's next words. "But now that you're back, at least temporarily...you have a lot of school work to catch up on."

Sora then cleared her throat while her gaze briefly shifted toward Arlene in a pleading manner. "U-Um...actually, I might have something to do soon. So I-" she started, attempting to slip away from the hug during her words.

But the girl's mother wasn't allowing her to do so as the more she tried to move away, the tighter her hold became. Though, she slowly began to loosen the hug in order to look at Sora directly with her 'mother smile'. This being a very normal smile, but with her closed eyes and a strange feeling of intimidation, it was quite scary to both Sora and Arlene.

"You are either going to be attending summer school...or doing all your homework and tests here. I'm not going to have you being held back a year, alright?" she more of stated than asked as she kept a firm hold of the girl.

Whom finally stopped struggling, gulped down heavily and nodded her head in response. "O-Of course. Then I'll do my school work here." she said quickly, all while smiling nervously to her mother.

Said woman's smile became a more natural one as she nodded back; "I'm glad to hear it. I figured you'd go with that, so I already had all the homework and tests sent here after the school year had ended. So you can get to work right away." she claimed with a gesture to the living room in the opposite direction of the kitchen.

Where of which Sora saw at least ten different books stacked on top each other in two piles of five. As well as dozens of papers within the hard cover for each book, which were obviously the homework assignments and tests. This made the teen groan silently, to which she nodded her head once more and headed into the living room to get to work. "I'll make sure to make your favorite tonight, so make sure to stay focused~!" her mother sang out happily, her going into the kitchen in order to start cooking.

Meanwhile, Arlene simply blinked a few times before following Sora into the living room. "Your mother is kinda strict, yet relaxed at the same time." the blond whispered as the sound of Sora's mother humming and preparing dinner could be heard from across the small hallway.

"Yeah, she can be. But 'this' is more of an excuse than anything else." the brown-haired girl replied as she sat down together with the other teen at the table.

"How do you mean?" Arlene asked with a curious tone.

Sora was silent for a moment as she began completing the homework assignments, without even bothering to read the books. But she eventually spoke up while continuing her work, which appeared to be very easy for her as she finished the first one within mere minutes. "She hasn't seen me in over a year, and while she wants to keep me here for as long as possible...she knows I'll have to leave again soon." she began, starting on the next assignment without skipping a beat.

"I think she understands that something big is happening...and that I'm right in the middle of it. So she's doing 'this' to not only give me an excuse to stay a little bit longer, but also to show that she trusts me to come back again." Sora whispered softly, to which she looked to one of the questions on the paper in front of her.

 _In the International System of Units (SI), length (m), mass (kg), time (s), and electric currents (A) are used as part of base units._

 _How would units of pressure and electric resistance be expressed with combinations of the aforementioned base units? From 1-6 below, choose the correct answer._

 _Pressure / Electric resistance_

 _1.) m -1 * kg * s -2 / m 2 * kg * s -2 * A -2_

 _2.) m -2 * kg * s -2 / m 2 * kg * s -2 * A -2_

 _3.) m -1 * kg * s -2 / m 2 * kg * s -3 * A -2_

 _4.) m -2 * kg * s -2 / m 2 * kg * s -3 * A -2_

 _5.) m -1 * kg * s -2 / m 2 * kg * s -4 * A -2_

 _6.) m -2 * kg * s -2 / m 2 * kg * s -4 * A -2_

After a brief moment to read over the question, Sora quickly circled the third answer in the list. This made Arlene blink a few times, to which she leaned in to look at the title for the homework the teen was completing. "Since when do you know about Physics?" she asked in a surprised and somewhat impressed tone.

"Since Merlin started teaching me." was the brown-haired girl's response as she giggled softly.

"Plus, believe it or not...Maleficent also taught me a lot of stuff as well." Sora continued, causing Arlene to blink once more.

"I know...I was surprised as well. But she's actually an amazing teacher and helped me to reach around a college-level understanding of most school subjects." she continued on while answering more and more questions with ease.

"Though...considering she was teaching me through almost the whole year I was sleeping, I was bound to pick up on some things." the girl finished with a soft giggle, yet Arlene just shrugged her shoulders.

"Yeah... _something_ anyway." the blond hummed out in an obviously taunting way, making Sora look to her with a heavy pout.

"Now that's just mean." she halfway whined, but still tried her best to focus on the homework in front of her.

All the while, Sora's mother looked over to her daughter in the other room with a soft smile. But despite this expression, the look in her eyes was rather sad. Though, she quickly looked out the window near of her as she noticed two familiar figures coming toward the house. "Guess I'll make a little extra tonight."

* * *

 **Well, there we are...Sora's mother. I was sort of unsure about how her personality should be, but I decided on a similar one to Sora...just with a few other tweaks. Also, yes...I decided on Arlene to be Larxene's real name since that one seems to be the most realistic. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed and will let me know what you thought in a review. Until next time everyone.**


	32. Destiny Islands part II

**Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 31: Destiny Islands part II

"Dinner is served~." Sora's mother sang out while placing a large dish filled with spaghetti.

Of which had almost fist-sized meatballs on the top, each one having melted cheese coating them. This lead for Sora to practically drool as she had put all of her books and such away, so that they could eat. All the while, Riku just chuckled lightly from his seat across from the teen. Kairi on the other hand, was right next to her brown-haired friend as she waited for said girl's mother to give everyone their portions. Upon doing so, Arlene, whom was sitting across from Sora's mother at opposite ends of the table, took a small bite of the spaghetti on her plate.

Immediately afterward, she blinked a few times and hummed out her satisfaction for the taste. Not long after this, everyone began to partake in their own dish. Making the only sound in the room being the scratching of their forks on the plates and the slurping of noodles. Despite it only being five minutes, no one had said a word the whole time, making it feel a great deal longer than it was. Though, it was actually Arlene whom broke the silence as she looked to Sora's mother with a fairly impressed expression.

"That was delicious." she muttered, wiping her face of the sauce that somewhat covered her lips.

The brown-haired woman looked to her with a wide smile and quick nod of appreciation. "I'm glad you enjoyed it." she answered while also using a napkin to clean her mouth.

Arlene nodded back to her, to which she then turned to the others as Riku and Kairi also appeared to have finished their portions of spaghetti. Sora on the other hand, was already on her third plate. Which appeared to be the rest of what her mother had made, something that made everyone but Arlene smile to. Said blond gazing in surprise to this as only one thought crossed her mind; 'Where does she put it all?'

After dinner was over and Sora's mother was cleaning the dishes, Sora herself was put back to work on the many homework assignments she had left. Leading for her to groan and sigh heavily, to which she then turned toward Riku and Kairi as they remained in their seats. "Why don't either of you have to do this?" she asked, a heavy pout growing on her features.

"Cause we stopped by our homes every other week throughout the year. So we already got all of our school work done. Though it was tough playing 'catch-up' Merlin helped us out quite a bit." the silver-haired teen claimed with a shrug of his shoulders.

"We also told the principle and teachers that we were all on an internship for a place just off island. And while they thought it was a bit weird that you never seemed to stop by, they didn't really ask questions." Kairi added silently, giving a small smile.

"Probably cause you would always sleep in and miss the morning classes. Or you'd fall asleep during lunch and end up skipping the afternoon classes." Riku muttered while rolling his eyes.

Sora pouted even more to this as she gave the older teen a huff; "Now that's just mean~!" she whined out, yet noticeably didn't actually deny it.

Of which made Arlene nod her head slowly, her able to imagine the teen doing exactly as her friend mentioned. But she quickly looked to Sora's mother as she was starting to finish the dishes, to which she leaned in and whispered to the others. "So when exactly do we leave? I'd really like to know what's been going on." she questioned, knowing that they would be needing to go soon.

After a brief silence of the teens glancing to one another, Riku spoke up in his own whisper. "I'll bring you to Hollow Bastion once we leave here, since Sora might have to stay overnight."

Kairi nodded slowly to this as she turned to the brown-haired girl for a brief moment. "I'll stick around with Sora for a bit. At least to make sure she doesn't try and skim over her school work by only doing just enough to pass." she stated, causing Sora to groan as she was likely thinking of doing exactly that.

However, immediately following her exasperated sigh, a hand gripped onto the teen's shoulder. Making her freeze instantly and slowly look up to her mother's scary smile; "You weren't actually going to do such a thing...right?" she almost seemed to growl out as her daughter shivered in response.

"O-Of course not." Sora answered, gulping down with a sheepish smile on her face.

"I'm glad to hear it...cause I do have another surprise for you after you're all done." her mother claimed while heading back into the kitchen.

The woman then opening the freezer and pulled out what looked like a frozen cake. "Your absolute favorite...ice cream cake~!" she sang out, making her daughter all but drool once again.

This lead for Sora to instantly get back to her school work, with even more 'gusto' than before. The brown-haired woman grinned to this with a nod as she was happy that her daughter was still motivated by such things. "Now if only I could motivate her to not sleep so much." she muttered to herself, causing her daughter to sneeze briefly.

But it didn't deter the teen from continuing on, even when Riku said that he would be heading out. "Alright...I'll see you both soon." Sora said with a wave, yet only looked to the blond when saying it before turning back to her homework.

Arlene raised a brow to this as she then glanced over to the girl's mother, whom was already cutting up the ice cream cake. All the while, Riku walked up to the woman and exchanged their farewells. The blond teen just tilted her head while turning back to Sora while crossing both arms underneath her chest. "You know...I knew you had simple desires, but I didn't think they were 'this' simple." she commented silently with a light sight.

Sora lifted her gaze to look at the girl once more, to which she blinked a few times before just smiling softly. "Well...I think it's better that way." she started with a rather fond gaze, despite looking up at the ceiling.

"Working hard for the smallest of rewards, or even none at all is just fine to me. Since doing the right thing is its own reward." the teen finished, turning her eyes to Arlene as the girl blinked a few times at these words.

However, this moment was broken as Riku came back into the room and spoke up. "Unless of course it's something you don't want to do...like homework, for example." he claimed quickly, causing the brown-haired girl to look at him with a heavy pout.

"Hey...you've skipped class way more than I have~!" she all but whined out.

"Yeah, but I still get better grades than you." Riku responded, his tone being rather confident while he gained a smirk to match.

Sora huffed and pouted a bit more before getting back to work; "Not for long." she muttered silently.

The silver-haired boy chuckled, then turned to Arlene as if asking if she was ready to leave. The blond nodded her head briefly as she gave the others a quick goodbye, to which she and Riku headed out of the house. "Have a safe trip~!" Sora's mother called out with a wave from the open door.

After closing it, she briefly looked over to Sora and Kairi still in the room working on the former's homework. This lead for the woman to smile softly, her able to tell just from a glance of how much they cared for each other. Though, as she went into the kitchen, she recalled how she met Arlene a few days ago. Said teen having claimed she was a friend of Sora's after noticing their similar appearance. Yet it was the manner in which she had said it, that truly stood out to her. The blond sounding like she was trying to hide a bit of desperation in finding Sora, as well as her worry over where the teen was.

While thinking about this, the brown-haired woman slowly smiled and glanced to her daughter out of the corner of her eye. "Well...my little Sora deserves all the love she can get." she whispered softly to herself while going back to cutting the cake.

It was in the middle of the night before Sora had finally finished all of her homework and tests. The teen being a mixture of exhausted and energized afterward, mainly thanks to the cake she ate following her work's completion. Though, after a few more hours of talking to her mother and Kairi, the latter finally decided to head out as well. Which left the two brown-haired girls to spend some time together, something both of them sorely missed.

Despite the older of the pair staying up for as long as possible, she eventually succumbed to her tiredness. The woman telling about her many sleepless nights, waiting for her daughter to come back. Of which Sora took to heart as she hoped that her mother wouldn't have to go through such a thing anymore. But now being more or less alone, the brown-haired teen looked around the quiet house while carrying her mother's sleeping body upstairs to her bedroom.

Said room being directly across the hall from where Sora's own room was, of which she entered after laying her mother down upon her rightful bed. After entering her room, the teen was hit by a mental wave of nostalgia. Everything was almost exactly it the place she left it, yet was far more clean than it previously was. It being obvious that her mother must have cleaned it many times throughout the year, there not being a spec of dust anywhere.

"You're the best, mom." Sora whispered silently with a smile, to which she looked around the room and glanced to all of her toys and such.

"I wonder if I've out grown some of these now." the girl mused, yet quickly began to play with a few of her dinosaur miniatures.

"Nope." Sora added as she continued to play around with these, at least until early morning.

The sun was not visible on the horizon, but it was still hours past midnight. It being now that the teen finally felt ready to sleep, to which she moved to her bed and was about to lay down. However, she caught the glimpse of Kairi rowing her boat toward the island. This made her blink a few times in question as all the tiredness evaporated from the teen. Sora then headed out of her room, yet paused at her mother's bedroom door.

"I'm just checking up on Kairi really quick, I'll be back before morning. I promise." she spoke softly, to which a silent groan was heard from the other side.

Despite not knowing if her mother was actually awake to hear this, Sora continued on her way and rushed outside to find out what Kairi was doing. Upon reaching the island as well, the brown-haired girl was once again filled with nostalgia of the night she first left this world. 'So much has changed since then.' the girl thought to herself while going further into the island to try and find her friend.

But after wandering around for a few minutes, she didn't see any sign of the girl, outside of her initial footprints in the sand. Though, she soon heard a set of foot steps not too far from her as Sora quickly rushed to the sound. As she moved in closer, the brown-haired girl realized that she was right outside the cave heading into the island's mountain. After blinking briefly to this, Sora went into the cave slowly and reached the end of it soon afterward.

However, no one was seen anywhere within the small space, causing the girl to blink once more and look around. It being now that the moon illuminated the drawing of herself and Kairi, making her blink many times in response. The illustration of her offering what appeared to be a star to Kairi now also had the other girl offering one back to her. Sora was frozen in place when seeing this, to which she knelt down and touched the surface of the stone with her hand.

"Kairi..." she whispered out softly while a smile curled her lips, and a joyful tear fell from her eye.

"Sora?" a voice echoed out from behind the girl, to which she turned quickly and saw Kairi standing there with a handful of seashells.

"Kairi..." the other girl repeated while getting back to her feet.

Though, as Sora looked at her, Kairi slowly flushed when realizing that the other girl noticed the addition to their original drawing. It being clear of her intent when making it since the brown-haired girl's own aim was also quite transparent. This creating a very silent atmosphere around them, the pair looking at one another in a shy manner without saying a word. Both teens felt something inside of themselves shift, as if they got the 'jitters', but it was amplified to eleven. Sora slowly began moving toward Kairi, whom just stood there silently with the seashells still in hand.

As the brown-haired girl came a bit closer, the sound of their hearts hammering in their chests became more audible in the silent cave. Sora then gulping down and briefly looked away in a very bashful manner, to which she finally stopped moving closer once they were within half a meter of each other. "K-Kairi...I..." she began, looking to her long time friend with a mixture of nervousness, a bit of confidence, but mostly of hope.

However, just as she opened her mouth to continue on, the pair's eye contact was broken as a bright light shined between them. This caused them both to take a step back as they shielded their eyes from being blinded. 'Aw come on!' Sora screamed in her mind as she was so close in finally confessing.

* * *

 **And there we go, it was a bit of a slow chapter...but now things are really gonna get interesting. Also, spaghetti is indeed one of my favorite foods, so that's why I gave that trait to Sora. I hope all of you enjoyed, and will let me know what you thought in a review. Until next time everyone.**


	33. Destiny Islands part III

**Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 32: Destiny Islands part III

The light shining between the teens continued to blind the pair for a few seconds as they shielded their eyes. Though, as it began to die down, Sora glanced down at the ground as she quickly noticed a trail of light. Of which was leading from the light in front of the girl, to somewhere behind her. This caused Sora to then glance over her shoulder and blink at the sight of the light's trail coming from the door. Immediately after facing forward to see what was produced by the light, she and Kairi gazed in surprise at a glowing Keyblade floating in front of them.

The weapon's shaft appeared to be similarly colored to that of a sunset, getting darker the closer to the tip. There also being what looked like a white vine that wrapped around it, which ended in a bouquet of colorful flowers for the teeth of the Keyblade. These even entwining to form the outline of a heart as it gave the blade a rather harmless appearance. Meanwhile, on the other end of the blade, one side of the hilt was formed in the shape of a breaking ocean wave, while the other was similar to a beige vine of sand. This last part seeming to be the start of the vine that wrapped around the shaft. The final part of the weapon was the red silken key-chain that connected to the hilt and revealed a paopu fruit token.

After looking this over the Keyblade as it continued to hover between them, Sora looked to Kairi with a slow nod. "I think we both know whose this is." she whispered softly while offering a small smile.

Despite a brief hesitation, the other girl slowly nodded and reached her hand out. Kairi slowly taking the softly glowing weapon into her hand, causing the emanating light to increased for a split second before finally stopping. This allowing the pair to look at the Keyblade properly, showing just how vibrant and beautiful the colors were. While gazing at it however, Kairi looked to her friend with an obviously confused stare. "But...how and why did it suddenly appear?" she asked silently.

Sora glanced from the blade, to Kairi, and then back again as she spoke. "Well...I would hazard a guess that since we're so close to this world's heart, that our..." she began, yet trailed off as a blush started filling her cheeks.

"..um...'moment'...connected our hearts to it for a brief moment. Which probably awakened your own ability to wield a Keyblade...and so, it just appeared in front of you." the brown-haired girl continued with a small smile.

After these words however, the auburn-haired girl just blinked a few times and looked to her weapon. Though there was a faint flush on her own cheeks, it was a bit less than her friend. It being clear from her expression that she was now in a whirlwind of emotion. Embarrassment of her 'moment' with Sora, excitement of actually having a Keyblade of her own, and even confusion in not fully understanding why it happened. But after a couple moments to processed some of this, the girl shifted her gaze back to the brown-haired teen and smiled softly.

"Hey Sora...can I ask you something?" she started, making the other girl's heart begin pounding loudly in her chest.

Sora getting the jitters all over again as she was hoping this was what she had been waiting for. Her hoping that the interruption wasn't going to ruin the mood they just had. Though, the brief few seconds of silence between them made her nerves as high as they could possibly get. "How..." Kairi continued softly, to which the other girl almost seemed to lean in slightly in order to listen more intently.

"How do you unsummon this thing?" she finished as she suddenly looked to the Keyblade in her hand, causing Sora to almost fall flat on her face.

The brown-haired girl then cleared her throat, looked to the side and tried her best to hide the embarrassed blush on her features. "Y-You concentrate on 'letting go', then it'll just disappear on its own." she answered while shifting her gaze to the other teen as she managed to do this in just a quick second.

Afterwards, Kairi looked to her friend and offered a small smile; "Thanks, I was a bit worried I would have to walk around with it all the time." she said in a somewhat embarrassed manner.

This leading for the two to share a sheepish laugh between themselves, which was then followed by a rather awkward silence. The pair even avoiding each other's gaze as they kept looking around the cave, yet never appeared to focus on one part in particular. Neither of them knowing what to say, until the brown-haired girl finally spoke up with a clearing of her throat. "W-Well...we should head back home, it's pretty late after all." she said quickly while finally looking to the other teen once more.

"Y-Yeah...I guess we should." Kairi responded with a quick nod of her head, to which she then just watched Sora slowly make her way out of the cave ahead of her.

Yet the auburn-haired girl stayed behind as she immediately began whining silently to herself once the other teen was out of sight. "Dang it! Why did I chicken out and ask such a stupid question~?! I should have said something!" she groaned out in as silent of a tone as she could to make sure her words weren't heard.

Meanwhile, on the outside of the cave, Sora was doing the same while smacking her forehead with a hand. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Why did I say we should go back home?! That was the perfect moment to try and bring the 'mood' back! I still could have confessed!" she whined out in a whisper, neither teen ever actually hearing the other.

Though, after composing themselves, Kairi then took this time to head out of the cave and rejoin her friend. "Ready?" she asked with a small smile, her still having the sea shells in one hand.

"Yep." Sora claimed, giving a quick nod as the pair headed down the beach and toward their boats.

"By the way...why were you collecting sea shells so late at night?" the brow-haired girl questioned, tilting her head curiously while they walked.

Kairi almost immediately stopped after this, yet she turned to her friend briefly and slowly continued on. "You know how I usually collect shells when I have something on my mind?" she responded, to which Sora blinked a few times and just nodded her head.

"Well...I've had a few things on my mind that prevented me from sleeping. So I came here to clear my mind in a sense." Kairi continued, both teens reaching and getting into their the boats.

"What's been on your mind?" Sora asked softly, her tone being very concerned as she could tell her friend was truly troubled.

The auburn-haired girl became quiet again as they slowly began rowing their way back to the main island. There only being the sound of their paddles hitting the water while they went, making it obvious that Kairi wasn't overly eager to talk about this. "My powers are based around the power of Light, right? While yours and Riku's are based more around the power of Darkness." she finally spoke up, to which Sora blinked and nodded her head once more.

Despite not looking to see this, Kairi just continued on as if knowing her friend would make this gesture. "Then doesn't that mean I'm sort of your enemy?" she more of stated than question, causing the brown-haired girl to stop rowing for a few seconds.

"The Light and Darkness oppose one another, even if they're supposed to be in balance...so that means we can hurt one another unintentionally." Kairi said silently, her own rowing starting to slow as if the thought of this was too much to do anything else.

As their boats drifted to one another, Sora became silent while looking to her friend. Even though they both knew they would never intentionally harm each other, it doesn't mean an accident wouldn't be possible. So having opposing powers means they could truly hurt one another. This letting the brow-haired girl truly understand why, when the absent silhouette of Zexion talked about her powers of Light, she refused so strongly to use them.

"You're right." Sora said silently, their boats were side-by-side to each other, allowing them to talk easier.

"We can indeed hurt one another really badly if such a thing would happen...but it doesn't mean it would. There is lots of stuff we don't know about the Light and Dark, and I like to think that it's our 'intent' that lets us choose whom is hurt by our attacks. And even if there is no such thing...then lets make it ourselves." she continued in a confident and very encouraging tone.

After hearing this, Kairi blinked a few times before tilting her head down in deep thought. Her remaining like this for a while as she appeared to be trying to convince herself that such a thing could work. Despite remaining silent, Sora just looked to her friend with a soft smile of encouragement as she already seemed to believe her own words. This lead for Kairi to slowly gain a smile and nod her head; "Yeah...you're right." she began, her smile becoming a bit wider.

"There's no use in worrying or complaining about something you haven't tried to fix. Only after making an effort should you start to worry." the auburn-haired teen finished as she sounded more confident already.

"Now you're getting it." Sora claimed, a wide grin curling her lips as the pair looked at each other.

"Told you I was gonna be wise one day." the girl continued, to which she and the other teen giggled in response.

"Well, let me know when that day comes." Kairi said in a teasing tone as she started to row once more.

"Aw~! Now that's just mean~!" Sora whined out, her rowing quickly to try and catch up to her laughing friend.

The next morning, both teens were standing on the shoreline of the main island together with Sora's mother. Said woman giving her daughter a large backpack as she almost looked ready to burst into tears. "Make sure to eat healthy, don't talk to strangers, and most of all...look both ways when crossing the street." she claimed as Sora took hold of the pack and slung it over her shoulder.

"I don't know when that last one would come into effect, but I'll definitely keep each of those in mind." the teen answered with a soft smile appearing on her features.

Her mother slowly nodded in response while giving a small smile of her own; "Good...and since it looks like you've been keeping up with some sort of physical activity, I'll also ask you to not over do it." she requested, to which her daughter simply smiled and nodded once more.

"Of course, I'm always careful~!" Sora claimed, a wide grin curling her lips.

"Since when?" both the teen's mother and Kairi questioned in unison, them sharing a quick high-five immediately afterward.

This just making Sora herself pout in response while crossing her arms; "Aw come on, it's unfair if you're both ganging up on me." she all but whined out, causing the other two to laugh softly.

Though, as this died down and the three looked to one another, the brown-haired woman took on a somewhat sad expression. "Do you really have to go already?" she asked silently, to which Sora gazed to her silently before she walked up and hugged her.

The teen feeling bad that she was leaving home all over again, despite finally coming back after over a year of being gone. These two sharing a tight embrace as some tears finally began falling from their eyes. "I'll stop by at least once a week." Sora whispered as she and her mother continued to hug one another.

"I promise." the teen continued, the two slowly loosening their hold on one another.

"And when you make a promise..." Sora's mother began as a smile slowly started to form on her features.

"...you follow through, with all you can." the brow-haired girl finished as the pair nodded to each other, this being a common phrase between them.

After this exchange, the two shared one last quick hug before the woman then gave a hug to Kairi. "Take care of her for me." she whispered to the teen, whom just nodded slowly in response.

"Always." the girl said silently, to which they separated and allowed Sora and Kairi to row off toward the island.

Sora's mother waving to them the whole way, to which the teens did the same once they arrived on the island. Them then making their way to the other side until they were out of sight. At which point the two were then teleported up to the Gummi ship high above the world and readied for their following trip. Yet the brown-haired girl immediately went to the window as if wanting one more look at her home before the ship flew off and toward its next destination.

But as the teen's mother stood on the shoreline, she gazed up at the sky with a rather sad gaze. The woman taking in and letting out a deep breath; "Please be safe." she whispered silently in a hopeful tone.

* * *

 **And there we are. Just a nice ending, no cliff hanger or anything...just a nice sweet ending that is also slightly sad. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed this and will let me know what you thought in a review. And yes, the new stuff revealed in the KH III trailer did make me change a few things, but nothing all that noticeable. Until next time everyone.**


	34. Hollow Bastion part IV

**!Important message at the end!**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 33: Hollow Bastion part IV

"Wow..." Arlene muttered silently while blinking a few times at the brown-haired teen in front of her.

"...you've been through a lot since we last saw one another." she continued silently, sighing a few seconds afterward.

Sora just nodded her head slowly in agreement; "Yeah...just a bit." the teen commented with a sheepish smile on her features.

"I guess the only question left is...what now?" the blond asked, her looking from Sora to Merlin as he was sitting in his seat.

Which was next to the fireplace in the corner, where he had a kettle of water being heated up for some tea. But as the elder man gazed from the boiling water in the pot, to everyone else gazing at him, he let out a silent breath. "I believe the best course of action would be to send Arlene to Yen Sid." he claimed, all while taking the kettle away from the fire and pouring the water into a tea pot.

Though many blinked a few times in wonder and confusion, only the blond spoke up since none of the others felt they had the right to question this. "Why him? And what for?" she more of demanded than simply asked.

"Well, he is a master of all forms of magic. So he would be able to help you increase your lightning powers to even greater heights that I myself could teach." Merlin explained in what some noticing to be a force easy-going manner.

Despite not knowing the man well, the blond-haired teen crossed her arms as she could tell something was up when he only answered the 'what' half of her question. "And why do I need to go into training in the first place?" she once again demanded, the blond obviously not liking the fact that the old wizard seemed to be trying to keep information from her.

"Because..." he started, his tone sounding a bit hesitant while speaking.

"...we don't know when the Organization might try to attack you. So I'm looking to help you grow stronger in order to ensure that you'll be powerful enough to fight against them." he finished while looking to Arlene in an earnest manner.

However, even the blond could tell that something was wrong. There was something he wasn't saying. Something he was outright refusing to tell her. But as Sora came up and placed a hand to her shoulder, Arlene looked at her with a raised brow. The brown-haired girl simply smiled softly and gave a slow nod of her head; "Don't worry, his training isn't too bad. And since you're already plenty strong, you won't have anything to worry about." she claimed while widening her smile.

"You'll be super strong in no time, I'm sure of it. So don't worry, just leave everything to us for now...and join in once you're ready." Sora finished, to which Arlene raised her brow bit higher.

Despite both of them know 'that' wasn't the reason for her hesitation, the blond quickly understood that the other teen was giving her a way out of the conversation. She then let out a silent breath while turning toward Merlin once more. Whom still appeared to be unwilling to say anything further, yet she eventually just sighed yet again and shrugged. "Fine." was all she muttered, looking to the side with her arms crossed and a quick 'Hmph!' from her throat.

After this, Merlin gave a slow nod before turning to everyone and spoke up once more. "From what I can tell, thanks to all the worlds you've helped seal away from the darkness...the Heartless and Nobodies have dwindled in numbers. Though...it's unclear if it's only due to your actions. Therefore, I'll keep an eye on things to make sure nothing is afoot." he explained with a glance around to the others.

Sora gave a nod in response, yet glanced over to Arlene as said teen still seemed a bit off-put by the old wizard. All the while, Riku was gazing toward his friend and the blond as he already had an idea of why Merlin was acting the way he was. Kairi on the other hand, once Merlin finished his words, quickly began showing everyone her Keyblade. Whom of which consisted of Leon, Yuffie, Cid, Merlin and Aerith. All were equally shocked to see this, but they were also very interested in knowing how and why it suddenly appeared to her.

"Well, Sora had an explanation for it, but she also figured that we would be better off asking you or Master Yen Sid." the auburn-haired girl explained, to which she turned toward her aforementioned friend.

However, said girl along with Arlene, were both gone. The door being left open just a crack as to signal to everyone else that they went outside. Upon seeing this, Merlin's eyes narrowed slightly from behind his small spectacles. Something that Leon caught from the corner of his eye, causing him to look at the wizard with a questioning gaze. "Why are you so suspicious of her?" he asked in a whisper, yet it was enough for Riku to turn and listen in on their conversation.

"You can tell me what's wrong, I won't judge." Sora claimed softly while walking up to the blond's side on the steps just outside the house.

"Hey Sora...do I seem real to you?" Arlene questioned, making Sora blink a few times.

"What do you mean?" she asked back, as if not wanting to think about what was about to be insinuated.

"I mean...do I still seem like a Nobody? Cause that's exactly how that old man was looking at me. Like I wasn't a real person." the other teen stated in a silent growl of anger.

"He probably thinks I'm nothing but a fake, or even considering ways of how to get rid of me." she continued while clenching her jaw tightly.

"Even if I was a fake, why would it matter? Tch! I bet he'd change his mind if he spent a couple years as a Nobody. Then maybe he'd know how it feels." Arlene declared, yet it seemed mainly to herself rather than the girl beside her.

Whom just blinked a few times while looking to the door for a brief moment, to which she turned to the blond with a soft smile. "Real or not...you're still my friend." she claimed without even the slightest hint of hesitation.

Which took Arlene off guard for a split second, but she quickly composed herself as the brown-haired teen continued on. "So don't worry about anyone thinking less of you, cause you're just as real as anyone else." Sora continued as her smile widened.

This lead for the other girl to slowly smile back and nod her head in agreement. "Thanks." she hummed out, a faint feeling of warmth growing inside of her after the teen's words.

Causing Arlene to blink and place a hand over her chest, wondering what this sensation could be. Yet she immediately turned to the door as Riku pulled it open and gestured for them to come back inside. "Merlin is giving us new assignments." he explained, to which Sora nodded her head and slowly returned into the house.

However, with Arlene going in front of her, it gave the brown-haired teen a split second to her own thoughts. Which caused both eyes to lose all their light as she recalled saying almost the same thing to Teng. But then the thought of why she destroyed Zexion's absent silhouette came to her mind; 'Shouldn't he have had just as much right to remain as anyone else?' she thought in the brief few moments it took for her to return into the house.

At which point, the light in her eyes returned and it was as if none of those thoughts even came up. "Alright..." Merlin spoke up while looking around to everyone.

"...while Arlene is training with Yen Sid, Sora...you'll be teaming up with Leon and Yuffie to check on the worlds you had previously saved a year ago. While there hasn't been any sign of increased Heartless activity, some of them have become 'hot spots' for Nobodies. So you'll accompany them to take care of these problems." he began, to which the brown-haired girl raised a brow and slowly nodded in response.

Sora suddenly getting a wave of nervousness while Merlin continued to hand out 'assignments'. 'Uh-oh...this is just like how I felt when realizing I'd be going back home. I've been away for a whole year for...meaning, they're also not going to be too happy with me. While Phil and Hercules took it well...they're also not ones to question being gone for long periods of time.' she thought to herself while gulping down.

Through all this however, the girl's gaze went from the floor to Leon as he cleared his throat to gain her attention. "You feeling okay?" he asked with a raised brow.

The brown-haired teen just smiled nervously and offered a half-hearted nod of her head. "O-Of course...I-I'm sure no one is gonna be 'that' mad about being gone for a year...right?" she said silently, recalling her promises to see a number of people again...'soon'.

"Did the people you've already met again, get angry?" Leon asked silently, his tone remaining neutral.

Which made it difficult to determine if he was going to try and cheer her up, or force Sora to look at the reality of the situation. Though, said girl slowly tilted her head up in thought at his inquiry; "Well...no, not really." she answered softly, looking to him once more.

"Then why start worrying now? Explain the situation as best you can...and they will understand." Leon stated while crossing his arms and giving the girl a 'matter-of-factly' gaze.

Sora blinked a few times to this before nodding again in agreement, yet Yuffie all but ruined it by saying her following words. "Plus you have a crush on a bunch of the girls you met, so I'm sure they'll forgive you~!"

Upon hearing this, the brown-haired girl froze up and slowly shifted her gaze toward Kairi as her attention had been grasped instantly. But strangely enough, even Arlene was looking at the teen with a raised brow in question. All the while, Riku chuckled to himself and grinned. The only thing he seemed to be missing was popcorn in order to watch the show in front of him unfold.

"W-W-W-W-What are you talking about?!" Sora asked quickly, her tone very nervous as she kept glancing over toward Kairi.

Whom was slowly coming closer toward them, causing the brown-haired girl to panic all the more. "I-I-I have no idea what you're talking about!" she continued with a heavy gulp.

"Really? But a bunch of those princesses were talking about you...as well as that one mermaid girl we met a while back in that underwater world." Yuffie began, looking to Leon briefly as if to gain his confirmation as well.

"She seemed to really be missing you, so I figured that you left a really big impression on her. Same with that blond girl...Alice, I think her name was." the teen continued as a thoughtful gaze covered her expression.

"But yeah...all of them were asking about you, one way or another." she finished while looking at Sora with a small smile.

Her appearing to be attempting to cheer the girl up by saying all this, but it merely made her even more nervous. The brown-haired teen gulping down one last time before turning fully to Kairi with a nervous smile. Said other girl almost seemed to have flames burning in her eyes, while cracking her knuckles slowly. "It looks like you have a whole 'fan-base', huh?" she commented silently as Sora just took a cautious step backward.

"N-No...I-I'm sure that's not..." the brown-haired teen began, but didn't manage to continue as Kairi took an even bigger step forward.

"I'd even say that you've got a bit of a harem going, huh?" the other girl more of claimed than inquired.

"N-No-" Sora started, but was once again cut off as Kairi came right up in front of her.

"Well you better keep those types of fantasies to yourself, cause it's not gonna happen, are we clear?" the auburn-haired teen demanded in a very firm manner, making it so Sora could only nod her head.

"Yes ma'am." she answered in a soft tone, to which Kairi nodded in acceptance to this.

"Good." was all she said before looking around to everyone as most just shifted their gaze away in an avoiding way.

Meanwhile, Riku simply grinned to her for a few extra seconds before finally looking to the side. Kairi huffed silently to this as she could tell he was enjoying her moment of extreme jealousy. As she let out a heavy sigh, the girl slowly turned back to Sora once more. "You better stay safe out there." she stated quickly, causing the brown-haired girl to blink a few times and regain her usual smile.

"Of course~! I'm always safe~!" Sora declared with an even wider smile, yet everyone simply gave her an unimpressed gaze since they all knew better.

"What? I am." she continued, pouting lightly while doing so.

However, no one said anything while just letting out a sigh, to which Sora whined a bit in response. Yet Riku finally spoke up as he shrugging both shoulders to his friend; "I'm pretty sure your resume speaks differently."

The brown-haired teen was about to respond to this, yet a soft meow interrupted her. This lead for her to quickly turn to Zola, whom had just woken up on her bed near the fireplace. But after her meow, Sora groaned silently and crossed her arms with a deeper pout. "Now this is really unfair." she hummed out as many around her chuckled, even Arlene.

* * *

 **I'm taking a break for a few weeks. I've been running on fumes for a while with this story, so I'm gonna be taking at least two weeks off. I hope all of you will remain patient with me during my break. In the meantime, I'll also be rethinking how I'll be rewriting Chain of Memories since I still haven't gotten to do that yet. So when I come back, 'that's' what I'm going to focus on for at least one or two weeks. So March will likely have maybe one new chapter for Kingdom Hearts II, but I'm hoping to have two revised chapters for CoM as well. Anyway, I hope all of you have been enjoying my story thus far, I'm going to have a poll on my profile for what world I should do next. I'll have four different options; Atlantica, Wonderland, Deep Jungle or ? (Which will be one of the original worlds I included in KH I). So you can either vote on the poll, as a review or as a PM. I'll tally whatever votes that come in and start writing once my break is over. Until next time everyone.**


	35. Wonderland part I

**I'm back, and by five votes to one, I'll be starting things off with Wonderland. I hope all of you enjoy this chapter. ^^**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 34: Wonderland part I

"This place hasn't changed one bit." Sora commented as she, Yuffie and Leon all walked through the large forest around them.

"This place is kinda freaky." the other girl muttered out as she glanced from one bizarrely shaped tree to the next.

"I like to think of it as 'unique'." the brown-haired teen stated, raising a finger up as to further her point.

Yet Yuffie just rolled her eyes briefly and turned to Leon as if to get him on her side. However, said man was as straight-faced as ever and didn't appear to have an opinion one way or another. This just made the girl huff in response, but she then turned to the side as a rustling in the bushes was heard. Immediately following this trio stopping and readied themselves to fight whatever the source of this sound might be. Despite them forgoing any chance to fight thus far, they weren't about to flee from a battle.

However, with the hedge shaking a few more times and their tension building with each passing second, they all but fell over when a white rabbit popped it's head out from the bush. It looked from Leon to Yuffie as they were the only ones visible to it before speaking up silently. "Oh dear...I didn't realize that anyone was still out and about in the forest." the hare said with a curious tilt of his head to the side.

"Didn't you hear? We've all evacuated to the house of the March Hare and the Mad Hatter." he continued, looking around quickly as if to make sure nothing and no one else was around.

"Okay...but then why are you out here in the forest?" the raven-haired girl questioned with an obvious gaze of confusion.

"I'm looking for food. We're running desperately low since there's so many of us, so we've split up into groups in order to scavenge as much as possible." the rabbit explained as he shifted his gaze between the pair in front of him.

Yet after Yuffie shifted her weight to one leg, it gave the white mammal the chance to spot Sora behind the two. "Sora!" he gasped out in shock, to which he jumped out from the bushes and into full view.

His normal clothes being slightly torn, yet he appeared quite happy to see the teen. "You're back." the rabbit continued while gaining a small smile.

Despite blinking a few times to him, the brown-haired girl just smiled back with a nod. "Y-Yeah, of course I am." she responded, causing the mammal to chuckle softly.

"It's alright, you don't need to pretend to know me. We never formally met, but I did witness your many accomplishments while you were here. And many of us here in this world were greatly impressed." he said, waving one of his fore-paws in a somewhat dismissive manner at the beginning.

"We even took inspiration from you and rebelled against the Queen of Hearts!" he continued, causing each of the other three to blink.

Though Leon and Yuffie slowly turned their heads toward Sora and crossed their arms. Both looking at her in heavy suspicion since she apparently toppled an entire world's government in a single day. "T-To be fair...she was going to execute a girl without any evidence of guilt!" Sora said in her defense, all while sweat dropping heavily at the pair.

"Oh..." she continued with a blinking gaze, turning back to the hare; "...speaking of, where is Alice?"

"She had returned home not long after she was brought back here. However, a couple months afterward...she returned. Apparently she's been looking for you." he answered, to which Sora blinked many more times in response.

"Me? But why?" the teen questioned as she took a step forward.

"She simply told us that it was because she felt like she needed to find you." the rabbit claimed, making Sora slowly begin to blush.

Once Yuffie noticed this, she nudged the other teen's side and looked at her with a mischievous grin. "Told ya." was all she had to say in order to cause Sora to turn fully red.

"A-Anyway...you haven't told us why everyone evacuated in the first place." the flushed teen stated quickly, obviously wanting to change the subject.

"Oh yes, of course. Well, once the Queen was removed from power, we all began to prosper a great deal. But a couple weeks ago, she suddenly returned with an army of creatures in white. Nothing we did could hurt them, and so we were driven further and further away from the castle." the rabbit explained softly as he moved toward the brown-haired girl.

Whom narrowed her eyes slowly as she and the other two knew that he was referring to the Nobodies. "Well, soon...you won't have to worry about those creatures. Cause that's what we're here to take care of." Sora declared, a grin developing on her features.

"That's excellent news." the hare began while smiling back to the teen.

"But for now, we should head back and let everyone know you're here. Then we call all rally together to help return things back to prosperity." he continued softly, to which the other three nodded their heads in agreement to him.

Each of the four making their way through the strange forest, avoiding any Nobodies they happened to pass by. Them still not wanting to pick any fights just yet as it would simply draw unwanted attention to themselves. Upon coming to a more dense area of the forest, the group eventually saw a small cottage in a clearing. There being a long table outside of the house that had a large number of people surrounding it. Each person varying in shape, size and color, yet they were all very clearly from this world.

However, at the far head of the table, sat Alice. Her looking much the same as before, save for being a bit taller and slightly more mature. The blond having a similar build to Kairi, yet her clothes seemed to have remained exactly as they were a year ago. There only being one major difference now, the white pinafore was gone from her wardrobe and left only the blue dress.

As her and Sora's eyes met, Alice quickly jumped to her feet with a wide smile. She rushed toward the brown-haired girl to greet her with a wave; "Sora~! It's so nice to see you again, it's been over a year." she commented, making said girl smile sheepishly and scratch the back of her neck.

"Y-Yeah...sorry about that, things have gotten pretty hectic. But I see you're looking well." Sora responded silently with a small smile on her features.

Alice returned this expression as she nodded in response; "I am, and it looks like you are as well." she said in a soft voice as the pair just seemed to stare at one another for a few seconds.

Yet they quickly broke eye contact as Sora was quickly swarmed by many of the people gathered in the area. Some asking her is she was actually 'Sora', while others questioned if she was there to help them. Not being used to 'this' kind of attention, she quickly waved her hands in the air in order to at least pause these inquires. "Alright alright, hang on everyone." the girl started, looking around to everyone as even Alice was gazing at her in an excited and expecting manner.

The brown-haired teen cleared her throat and gestured to herself while carrying on; "Yes...I'm 'Sora'."

"And yes...we're here to help you." she continued with a soft smile, gesturing to Leon and Yuffie next to her.

After these words, the crowd cheered and called out words of thanks to the three. But the raven-haired man slowly raised a hand up, making each of them go silent once more. "We do have a serious question for each of you though. Has anyone seen or heard anything about men in black cloaks?" he inquired in a serious tone while looking around to everyone.

However, no one gave an answer as they just kept glancing to each other. None of them appearing to know anything, until a playful, yet familiar voice echoed out around them. "Ah yes...the ones in shadow."

"They claim to be so organized...they put it in their name." the voice continued, to which the Cheshire Cat slowly seemed to materialize on Sora's shoulder.

"Yeah, kind of ironic, huh?" Sora commented with a light chuckle, yet the look in her eyes showed that she was very interested in hearing what the feline had to say about the Organization.

"Do you know where they are now?" Yuffie asked quickly, her taking a step forward.

"Hmm, well it would be important to specify the time." Cheshire Cat chuckled, his eyes rolling in opposite directions.

"The time?" the raven-haired teen muttered, tilting her head to the side curiously.

"Of course~. At one time I could have seen one right over there." the cat stated while pointing toward the highest branch of a nearby tree.

"While at another time, I might have spotted one meeting together with the Queen in the castle." he continued, making Sora nod slowly to this.

Her, Leon and Yuffie piecing together the Organization's involvement long ago, but now they have a more direct correlation. "Where was the most recent sighting of a man in black?" the brown-haired girl questioned with a raised brow.

"Right here of course." the cat hummed with a gesture to Leon himself, causing many to groan in exasperation since he was indeed wearing black.

"Alright...then what about the time before that?" Sora asked in a surprisingly calm tone, despite the fact that the Cheshire Cat was giving her the 'run around'.

"Hmm...in that case..." said feline spoke, his natural grin seeming to widen even more.

"...I'd say it was over by the sleepy door." he finished before his tail waved over his body, allowing it to just disappear.

"Hope they're not planning on opening him again~!" the cat's voice echoed out with a chuckle before fading away.

Sora's gaze narrowed heavily upon hearing this as she glanced to the side; 'If they're going to unlock the key to this world's heart, then it means it'll fall into darkness just like my island had. But what really bothers me is the fact that he mentioned it being opened by 'them' again. Meaning the Organization were the ones whom originally unlocked it in the first place.' she thought quickly to herself, all while tapping her chin with a finger.

'They really have been at this for a while. It almost makes my actions a year ago next to pointless since they have the capability to break the locks anyway. But the question then becomes...how do they actually break them in the first place?' the teen continued, but was quickly brought out of her thoughts as Alice spoke up in a somewhat worried tone.

"Sora? Are you alright?" she questioned softly, blinking her eyes a few times in curiosity.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I was just thinking of a way to stop them...and I think I have one." the brown-haired girl responded quickly, to which the blond gave a small smile and nod.

"Then we better hurry!" she declared, making the off-world trio blink a few times at her.

"'We'?" Yuffie hummed out while raising a brow.

"Of course! I'm not going just stand around and let you guys do all the work, I'm gonna help too!" Alice declared in a proud manner as she puffed out her chest to further this pride.

Despite Sora opening her mouth to speak, Leon just placed a hand to her shoulder and shook his head. "Don't worry...I have a feeling we don't really have to worry about her too much." he said silently, causing the brown-haired girl blink a few times.

Yet she simply shrugged and nodded slowly in response, to which she looked to Alice with a small smile of her own. "Alright, are you ready to go?"

"Just a second." the blond began as she moved inside the house really fast before returning in less than a minute.

Her now having actual pieces of armor, which were all silver in color. The first set led from the girl's hands, to the tops of her shoulders. While the second went from her knees, to overlap with a pair of armored boots. All of these being very well made just from appearance alone as despite being thin, they were extremely strong and sturdy. "Ready!" Alice declared firmly with a small grin on her features.

Sora blinked many times to this as she was now extremely curious as to what Alice has been doing all this time. But her thoughts about this were quickly pushed aside as Yuffie just giggled and nudged the brown-haired girl. "Then lets go~!" she all but sang out, but it sounded almost like she was teasing Sora more than anything.

Said teen did her best to ignore this as the the four quickly made their way back into the forest, and toward the door. However, within the castle of the Queen of Hearts, the owner sat on her large throne looking to a hooded figure in front of her. The monarch's gaze narrowing heavily on him while snapping her short, heart-shaped staff from one hand to the other. "What do you mean I have to lose my kingdom again?!" she screamed out angrily, her almost jumping out of her chair while doing so.

"It's as I said...the army we gave to you was merely a lure to bring the Keyblade wielder here. And now that she has arrived, your rule is now finished." the person responded in a calm voice, yet it was one that Sora herself would have scarcely heard.

"You dare to make a fool of me!" the queen demanded, to which she pointed toward the man with her small staff.

"Off with his head!" she screamed to the dozens of Nobodies all around the hall.

But despite this order, not one of them moved to follow what she commanded. "You dare to defy me?! I am the Queen of Hearts! I will not be ridiculed by yo-!" however, her words toward the beings in white were cut short as the hooded figure appeared in front of her with a strange blade through her chest.

Though, it soon vanished as if it had just been a blur, to which the figure then took a few steps back. "Indeed you are the Queen of Hearts...which means all that rage, cruelty and determination boiling inside you will make for a very nice Heartless and Nobody." they whispered silently as a large pool of darkness spread out from under the woman as her body was quickly consumed.

"Now...keep the Keyblade wielder distracted, while I gather what we need from her."

* * *

 **And there you have it. Sora made a really big impact on the world, Alice seems to have become a warrior in some way, and the Queen of Hearts...well...I guess not everything changed. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed my returning chapter and will let me know what you thought. Until next time.**


	36. Wonderland part II

**Sorry for the delay, it's been a heck of a week. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoy.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 35: Wonderland part II

Sora rushed together with Leon, Yuffie and Alice as they neared the edge of the forest. However, upon arriving at the clearing, a large swirl of black energy spread out from the ground in front of them. It being almost ten meters in diameter, allowing for hundreds of Nobodies to begin emerging from within the darkness.

"They definitely don't want us going near that door." Leon whispered while bringing out his gunblade.

"Well...we can handle these guys, you two run on ahead." Yuffie claimed as she pulled out a large ring that had multiple layered blades sticking out from one side.

But as she spun the ring in her hand, the blades seemed to position themselves in an 'X' formation. This allowing the weapon to take its full shape as a giant shuriken, to which Yuffie herself took on a fighting pose. Yet before she could initiate an attack, Leon spoke up in a firm voice. "No...you go with Sora and Alice."

"Huh?" was all the raven-haired teen could utter out while blinking many times.

"I can handle these small fry. All of you just keep going." the man stated as bright flames coated his blade, to which he swung this weapon through the air and destroyed several of the advancing Nobodies.

"You need to use that spell Master Yen Sid taught you, and if the Organization is there...you'll need more than just one other person with you." Leon continued, him glancing over to Sora specifically.

Said teen narrowed her eyes before looking from the Nobodies, whom kept rising out of the darkness almost endlessly. She then looked toward the door that seemed as if it shouldn't lead anywhere, but she knew better due to her previous visit. But as the girl turned back to Leon, she gave a slow nod in response. "Stay safe." she urged softly while bringing her arms around both Alice's and Yuffie's waists.

A split second later, the three were over five meters on the opposite side of the black swirl. The trio then rushed on toward the door, them now being mere minutes away from their destination. All the while, Leon just smirked lightly and took on a more relaxed pose. "Now that they're out of the way...I can go all out." he whispered, his whole body quickly starting to glow a bright white.

"Renzokuken." Leon said in a deceptively calm tone, narrowing his eyes while doing so.

Immediately after saying this, he moved forward at a blinding speed that made it impossible for any of the Nobodies to follow him. However, almost twenty of them vanished within a blink of an eye after the man's movement. His gunblade slashing straight through each of them with a single strike, to which he then looked around with a sharp gaze. The first movement having placed him in the center of the surviving Nobodies, yet it was far from an accident as the white aura continued surrounding him.

With a quick spin of both his body and his weapon, half of the remaining Nobodies were defeated in less than a second. Instantly after this, the other creatures finally seemed to react and turn toward the man for their own attacks. But they were far too late as three more slashes later, all of the Nobodies were gone. Though, the last one had been into the center of the swirl of darkness, causing it to disburse. Leon now standing there with his blade pierced into the earth, yet his eyes were closed tightly as his hands weakly shook for a few seconds. 'Five strikes still seems to be my limit.' he thought to himself while exhaling heavily.

"Now then...I assume you followed us to this world for a reason." the man said silently, lifting his weapon from the ground and turning to the right.

Where of which several figures approached Leon, but the one that took the lead was a figure clad in a white sheet-like robe. However, what stood out the most was that most of his face was covered and that he was in a wheel chair. Meanwhile, the person pushing him forward was in fact Rude, whom maintained his typical stern expression. The others coming up behind him were Reno and two other people dressed in similar attire.

The first was a young woman with a small stature, brown eyes, and neck-length blond hair that appeared to be longer on one side. The second was tall man with dark brown eyes, and shoulder-length black hair. Of which he had tied in a ponytail, allowing the tilak in the middle of his forehead to be seen.

"Especially if you brought 'this' many of your Turks with you." Leon uttered as he looked to each of the five people with a narrowed gaze.

"Sharp as always I see." the man in the wheel chair spoke, his voice being calm, yet filled with a strange amount of confidence.

"After hearing about our little Keyblade Master's deeds from a year ago...as well as the news that she's come back...how could I not make a request for help?" he continued with a soft chuckle, a small smirk barely being seen on his features.

"Which is exactly why I plan on making sure she stays away from you. Because unlike most of the others in Hollow Bastion...I know what kind of man you are, Rufus Shinra." Leon claimed firmly, his tone showing clear signs of dislike toward the man.

"Oh come now...I'm a changed man, you know that." Rufus stated, yet his halfway sarcastic way of saying it left little doubt about his true intentions.

This just making Leon all the more suspicious, but it remained impossible for him to figure out what the man was actually up to. "Right...and what does this 'changed man' really want with Sora?" he all but demanded, his grip tightening slightly on the gunblade in his hand.

"As I said...to request for her help, that's all." the man in white responded, it sounding like he was being genuine.

Deep down however, Leon still knew better than to trust Rufus and remained on guard. "That's never all there is to it." was all he said while moving slowly into a fighting stance once more.

Noticing this, each of the Turks did the same with their own weapons, yet stopped when Rufus raised a hand up. "It's alright, he's cautious. That's smart of him." he uttered out as another smirk could barely be seen from under the white robes.

"We'll leave things here for now...at the very least, Leon won't be cruel enough to ignore our pleas to the Keyblade wielder." Rufus claimed, all while making a gesture for Rude to take him away.

Said tan-skinned man immediately followed this unspoken order as he began pushing his boss's wheel chair to the side. "She'll hear of us, one way...or another." Rufus continued softly as he gave Leon a quick wave of farewell.

"Until then." he finished, the other Turks quickly trailing after him and Rude.

Leon kept a close eye on the group until they were well out of sight, to which he finally seemed to relax. 'I never thought Rufus Shinra would make a move like this. Something is definitely going on...and while I don't think Sora should get involved, it might be inevitable if he's 'this' set on speaking to her.' he mused to himself, to which he then turned and rushed on to join with the others beyond the door.

Whom of which had gone into the room beyond the door and come across another large swirl of darkness in the middle of the room. Unlike before however, rather than a swarm, one enormous Nobody emerged along with a similarly large Heartless. "Oh great." Sora muttered with a huff.

The Heartless was about ten meters tall, but due to having a somewhat insect-like appearance, its antennas added an extra few meters to its height. Though the body itself was rather rotund, it seemed to be in the shape of a queen bumble bee. The yellow fur that would normally be around a bee's 'neck' area, was outspread into a high-collar-like form for this Heartless. It also having a somewhat similar coloring to the Queen of Hearts' usual clothes as it was even holding a small staff in one of it's four arms. But rather than it having a normal red heart on the top, it had the insignia for the Heartless.

On the other hand, the Nobody was shaped more humanoid in appearance. It looking almost like an oversize human woman with large blades for arms and wearing a Victorian-style dress. Yet because of the solid grey coloration the creature looked extremely plain. Though, the main feature of this Nobody was that its head seemed to be covered, or possibly made up of, a tall golden crown.

After looking these two over for a moment, Sora, Yuffie and Alice glanced to one another. "You two ready for this?" the former of the trio asked with a small smirk.

This lead for the other girls to nod their heads in response, to which they then rushed off in three different directions. However, both of the large creatures immediately began moving toward Sora as she seemed to be their main target. Despite raising a brow to this, the brown-haired teen just lead the pair away from the door before doubling back. At which point, Yuffie threw her large shuriken at the Nobody's chest with enough force to prevent it from continuing its chase.

But it wouldn't last long as the creature's body was very sturdy and was also a close-combat attacker. Making it so that Yuffie couldn't do much to it after the initial attack since she managed to take it by surprise. Each attempt to hinder its movements were useless as the Nobody just kept going, deflecting any other attacks with its arms.

All the while, Alice stepped in front of the Heartless and narrowed both eyes. "White Blaze!" she called out as an inferno of white fire burst out from her outstretched hands.

These flames surrounded the Heartless and preventing it from getting any closer to Sora. At least for a moment. As once its wings began to flap quickly, the flames were mostly blown away. Though, any that remained were easily avoided as it flew over them. Taking to the air also allowed the Heartless to also get out of the way of Alice's further attacks. Its maneuverability being too much for the blond to keep up with as she couldn't prevent the creature from continuing forward.

Yet Sora still easily made it back to the door as she summoned her Keyblade and pointed it toward the lock. Of which lead for the door's mouth to open subconsciously in his sleep, allowing her to lock it once more. But instantly after doing this, Sora felt a sinking sensation. As if there was something terribly wrong with what she just did, yet it was now too late to stop or undo it.

Though, she didn't have much time to think about this further, as she turned around to see the Heartless and Nobody still moving toward her. When seeing Yuffie's and Alice's difficulty with their respective opponents she cupped her hands to either side of her mouth. "Switch!" Sora called out to the girls, her hands allowing her voice to be carried through the room easier.

The two looked at the brown-haired teen with a blinking gaze, yet almost immediately nodded and rushed across the room to trade opponents. At which point, the Heartless' maneuverability was all but useless against Yuffie's far superior speed. Plus, with her shuriken, she managed to slice its wings enough to prevent it from flying. Meanwhile, the Nobody could do next to nothing against Alice as its defenses were quickly broken from her overwhelming powers of Light.

This switch making made it clear for the teens that even if they have opponents they cannot defeat, having friends along side you makes it so that you can overcome any foe. Which was further emphasized when the two defeated the creatures with relative ease. The Heartless and Nobody being completely unmoving on the floor as they appeared to have actually been knocked unconscious.

Yuffie and Alice then turned to Sora and rushed toward her with wide smiles of glee. But these quickly disappeared, and were replaced by gazes of horror as they saw a hooded figure standing right behind the brown-haired teen. Whom immediately spun herself around, to which she saw that this person had their back to her. Though, the soft glow they had emitting from their hand was still visible as he actually seemed to have retrieved something from the Keyhole itself.

"Excellent." the figure whispered softly, causing the brown-haired girl's eyes to widen as she recalled hearing this voice back when she had visited Halloween Town.

"You're..." she spoke out with a surprised gaze, yet the person just vanished in a quick movement.

A split second later, both Alice's and Yuffie's attacks collided on the floor where he previous had stood. This lead for the three to look around as quickly as possible, to which Sora eventually noticed the man standing at the far end of the room. "Be patient! It's not yet time!" he called out before vanishing in a swirl of darkness.

In the same moment however, Sora was already right in front of him with her Keyblade thrusting toward his face. Despite the attack missing by mere millimeters, the force of it created a shock wave that echoed through the room and nearly knocked the other two teens back. The pair still being in front of the door as they didn't even have time to react until almost getting pushed over. But once they stabilized themselves and looked to Sora, they could only blink as the teen had a strange aura of black and yellow.

Though, the brown-haired girl slowly turned around and gave them her signature smile. The three heading toward one another as they met in the center of the room. "Well...I'd say we succeeded." Sora claimed, her smile widening slightly.

At which point, Leon's voice was heard from the doorway behind Yuffie and Alice. "GET OUT OF THERE!" he screamed, yet it was too late as both the Heartless and Nobody had stood back up and engulfed the three in a mass of darkness that destroyed almost the entire room.

* * *

 **There you are, some strange happenings are going on and Rufus Shinra has made his appearance. I hope all of you enjoyed and will let me know what you thought. Until next time.**


	37. Wonderland part III

**Sorry for being a bit late again with the update. I actually had to rewrite the whole thing after my laptop reset in the middle of writing. So I lost three of the five pages I wrote and had to start again. Therefore, if the second half feels a bit weird...that's why. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoy.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 36: Wonderland part III

The room was in shambles. Parts of the table and chair were scattered all over the place, while huge scorch marks were seen in almost every corner of the area. In the center however, the Heartless and Nobody loomed over where the three teens had been. Though, it was impossible to see any of them as a large cloud of dust and ash was slowly settling from the massive impact of their combined attacks. But as they continued to stare down at this spot, Leon narrowed his gaze heavily. Said man almost being knocked outside the door from the sheer force of the creatures' strike.

"Well that was rude." Sora's voice spoke up softly from within the dust cloud.

Of which quickly disbursed as a gust of wind encircled the voice's source, which revealed the brown-haired teen with a fist pointing upward. Meanwhile, Yuffie and Alice were standing behind her with similar smirks on their features. As Sora looked up to the two creatures, she let out a light huff when they began simultaneously charging a massive ball of darkness. "And that's just mean." she muttered silently while lowering her hand.

Upon doing so, the girl summoned her Keyblade and jumped into the air. Her stabbing the sphere of black energy with this weapon, making it almost instantly disburse. While in midair, Sora glanced to the side as she saw the Nobody swinging both of it's bladed arms toward her. Yet at the last second, she used a quick Aero spell that allowed her to spin and contort her body slightly. This letting her pass under and over both attacks with ease, as well as even flicked a small speck of grey-colored light toward the Heartless.

Of which was swinging its small staff down toward Sora, as if it was a fly-swatter. This lead for Sora to end her spin while facing the large Heartless insignia rushing down to hit her. But the moment it was about to strike, the teen brought a hand back and just punched the staff. The small scepter shattering apart instantly, yet Sora herself was no where to be seen afterward. Which lead for the two large creatures to look around in search for the brown-haired girl.

All the while, Yuffie and Alice were watching this from the ground with a blinking gaze. Them being a bit surprised that Sora was rather effortlessly handling these two creatures on her own. Though, they also began to look around for the teen as even they didn't see where she had disappeared to. Yet it wouldn't take long as they noticed a small glow radiating from the Heartless' shoulder. Which was being created by a series of small spheres in an 'S' formation.

"Magic Blitz." Sora hummed out silently from behind the orbs.

Each of which swiftly combined into one much larger one before it flew off and into the chest of the Nobody. At which point, it was engulfed in a rather colorful assortment of light. But once this began to slowly fade away, the large creature did as well. "Now then..." Sora muttered while looking to the Heartless she was standing on.

"...your turn." she finished, just before the insect-like being was covered in a surge of darkness that destroyed it within a matter of seconds.

Sora then slowly fell to the floor with a strange amount of grace, to which she grinned at the other two teens. "Well...that takes care of 'that'." she claimed with an expression of satisfaction.

Alice giggled softly while nodding her head in agreement, to which Yuffie merely smirked with a shrug. Though, as Leon made his way over to the three, he let out a heavy sigh. "It was reckless of you to take an attack like that." the raven-haired man stated firmly as he crossed his arms.

Sora having actually punched the creatures' first assault toward the group, rather than creating a barrier. However, the force of her punch still blew away all of the dark energy coming toward the three and distributed it outward. Of which had been what caused the massive amount of damage to the room. Leon having noticed this at the last second as the girl spun around and punched upward in an uppercut fashion.

"Aw come on...I had a Reflega spell ready just in case." the teen said with a light pout and quick shrug.

"Just don't make it a habit." was all Leon responded with as his arms tightened slightly across his chest.

"As you wish." Sora hummed out with a nod of her head, to which she then turned to the other two girls.

But her gaze slowly drifted to a spot just beyond them, where a small swirl of darkness was forming. It seeming to be generated by the fading black energy left behind from the large Heartless and Nobody. Though, as the darkness took shape, it quickly began to fade away. Revealing the Queen of Hearts' body laying on the rather scorched floor. Upon seeing this, each of the four's eyes widened slightly. All of them moved slowly toward her, yet soon noticed the woman was still breathing and likely just unconscious.

However, Sora's eyes narrowed heavily and her expression became very thoughtful. 'She reformed within less than a minute. Does that mean the others did as well? Have they been just wandering around for a whole year? Or did their 'reforming' take longer because they were apart for so long? Although...just how long has she been like this anyway?' she mused to herself while tapping her chin and looking down at the floor.

All the while, the others glanced from each other before to the brown-haired girl. Making most of them raise a brow in question as to why she suddenly went completely silent. However, Sora soon snapped out of this and looked around to everyone with a sheepish smile. "S-So...what next? Didn't you mention that the Queen came here with an army?" she question, turning toward Alice with a tilt of her head.

"Oh yes...of course! If they're still here, they'll be all over the castle's courtyard." the blond answered, to which the group then made their way to the castle just beyond the forest.

But not without Leon giving Sora a few suspicious glances along the way. Once they arrived however, the group just blinked many times to the sight of thousands of Nobodies literally swarming across the entire castle. "Whoa...and I thought the Horned King had a lot of undead." Sora commented silently as she just kept looking around to the sheer number of grey-colored creatures.

"Huh?" Alice muttered with blinking eyes.

"Long story." the brown-haired girl responded, waving her hand to the other teen.

"Anyway, we should probably deal with these guys." she continued, to which she took a few steps forward and cracked her knuckles.

"I could use some practice for all the martial arts I learned from Shang." Sora said as a small grin curled her lips.

"Another...huh?" Alice asked, her blinking many more times to the girl.

"Another long story." the brown-haired teen answered while waving her hand once more.

"I definitely wanna hear that story." Yuffie claimed, a grin becoming visible on her own features.

"Me too." Alice added quickly in a rather excited tone, taking a step forward when doing so.

Sora looked to each of the two before smiling lightly and nodding her head. "Alright...once we're finished here, I'll tell you both a bit more about my adventures." she said, just before the group rushed toward the large gathering of Nobodies.

Leon used his gunblade to slash and shoot over one hundred of the Nobodies, yet it was with very little effort. Yuffie utilized both her giant shuriken and materia driven spells to defeat just as many of her own opponents. Though, it was with greater speed than the man thanks to her superior agility and maneuverability. Alice on the other-hand, simply conjured a large amount of Light in a sphere around her. Which completely incinerated twice as many foes, as the other two combined. Meanwhile, Sora started off with using her recently learned martial arts, yet soon found herself combining it with her Darkness and magic.

This taking the form of whip-like extensions from her typical strikes, allowing the girl to hit many more foes with a single attack than usual. Within the same amount of time as Leon, she had taken down five hundred Nobodies. However, they still hadn't even made a dent in the amount of creatures, as there were still thousands remaining. Making it easy for them to slowly surround and swarm the four.

"Alright...this number should do." she hummed out while lifting a hand up into the air and took in a breath.

"Thundaja." Sora whispered, to which a series of five hundred lightning bolts shot down from small yellow magic circles in the air.

Each of which had continuously produced lightning bolts until every last Nobody was gone. Once they were, Sora lowered her hand and looked to the others in an almost overly confident manner. "There, that also take care of 'tha-'" yet she quickly cut herself short when a few stray Nobodies were spotted moving out from behind the hedges in the court yard.

These creatures immediately vanishing in corridors of darkness in order to escape, them knowing when to give up. But while most of the group just shrugged their shoulders and let them go, Sora was blushing deeply. Her feeling embarrassed about trying to sound so cool at the end, despite letting a few stragglers get away. Before the other three noticed her flush however, the brown-haired girl cleared her throat and turned to the side slightly in order to hide her face. "W-Well...I'd say that we accomplished our mission." she claimed while placing her hands to either hip.

"I'd say so." Alice said softly, a small smile curling her lips.

"I'll go back and let everyone know they can return." Leon spoke up, causing the other three to look at him with a blinking gaze.

"You three can share your stories." he continued with a wave, to which he started going back into the forest.

'Odd...it's like he wants some time alone for some reason. I knew he was the brooding type, but I didn't think it would be like 'this'.' Sora mused to herself while raising a brow to the man's leaving form.

Not long after he was out of sight, the three girls looked to one another and began sharing their stories. Though, they slowly made their way inside of the castle as Alice decided to go first. Despite each of them thinking that she would take the least amount of time...it was debatable. "Whoa...so you actually thought it was all a dream at first?" Yuffie hummed out, blinking a few times at the other teen.

"Yep...but the moment I released a small amount of Light energy, I realized it had of been real. So I went back to the rabbit hole and realized that it was actually a portal to Wonderland." Alice claimed with a small smile on her features.

"How strange." Yuffie muttered silently as they continued walking through the castle's halls and to the throne room.

"I thought so too." Alice said while letting out a soft chuckle.

"No...not the whole portal thing, I mean the 'using Light energy' thing." the raven-haired girl explained, her having a very thoughtful gaze; "It shouldn't be possible."

Sora raised a brow in question as she tilted her head to the side slightly; "What do you mean? Though she needed a bit of direction, Belle also managed to use the power of Light on her own as well."

Upon hearing this Yuffie looked to her once more in a bit of shock; "Wait what? Why didn't you say so before?" she asked quickly, her expression appearing to be actually worried.

"Well...what's the big deal anyway? Don't the Princesses of Heart have those kinda of capabilities inherently?" the brown-haired girl asked back with a shrug.

"Yes and no." Yuffie began as she paused in her steps, to which the other two did the same while looking at her.

"From what Merlin has told me about the Princesses of Heart...while they hold the greatest amount of power over the Light, it is naturally sealed within them. Only during times of true danger will the Light within the Princesses begin to surface." she explained slowly, it being clear that she was almost struggling to remember everything.

"Which means that either the Organization is truly 'that' evil...or there is something else going on." Sora uttered silently, her eyes narrowing heavily.

This lead for a deep silence to surround the trio as they all began to worry about what the future might hold. However, it was quickly brought to an end when the Mad Hatter and the March Hare called out to each other that they should try sitting in the throne. Their voices echoing from down the hall as the three turned toward these two. Yet, they weren't alone as a great deal more people began flooding in with Leon in the back.

"Oh my, Alice...Sora...have you truly defeated the Queen and her army?" the white rabbit asked while hopping up to them.

"Indeed we have, though...it was mainly Alice." Sora claimed with a wide grin curling her lips and a gesture to said blond.

Whom blinked a few times at her friend, but eventually shrugged in understanding as to what she was aiming for. "Well...we all helped to do it." she said, giving a small smile to the rabbit.

Despite the white mammal looking to each of them, he raised a paw up and called out to everyone. "Three cheers for the saviors of Wonderland~!"

"Hip hip, hooray!"

"Hip hip, hooray!"

"Hip hip! Hooray!"

* * *

 **And there you have it, Wonderland is saved. And I even threw in a bit of my own explanation as to why it isn't just a dream, like it was in the movie. I hope everyone enjoyed and will let me know what you thought. Until next time everyone.**


	38. Atlantica part I

**Man, I am not doing so well with keeping these updates consistent. Though, I did have to work on my friend's birthday present along with my brother's. Their birthdays are just two days apart, so it was hard to keep up the update for this week. But enough excuses, I hope you'll all enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 37: Atlantica part I

"You sure we couldn't stay a bit longer?" Sora questioned with a tilt of her head while looking to Leon on her right side.

The two, along with Yuffie, were flying through space and toward the next world. Yet the brown-haired girl let out a huff as the man shook his head in response to her inquiry. "No...it's why I gave you as much time as I did to talk to one another. We have a mission to do, so you can go back for social visits after all of this is over." he stated in a firm tone.

Sora let out a heavy sigh, to which she nodded slowly in defeat. "Oh alright...but I still declare we make time for said social visits sometime soon." she declared while crossing her arms.

This forcing Leon to take the helm on his side, now that the teen was pretty much refusing to pilot the ship. "We'll see." was all he uttered as the next world slowly came into view.

It being one that Sora herself recognized right away; "Oh~! I've been meaning to see Ariel again." she spoke up quickly, a small smile curling her lips.

"Well, looks like you'll get your chance." Yuffie commented, giving the other teen a nudge with her elbow.

The brown-haired girl turned to her with a blinking gaze, but she immediately flushed when Yuffie bounced her eye brows up and down a few times. It being clear of what she was suggesting, which just made Sora turn away and clear her throat. "Sh-Shut up." she muttered out, making the raven-haired teen start laughing.

"Whatever...lets see how you handle being a mermaid." she continued while briefly glancing back toward the other girl.

Whom blinked in response, but after they were teleported down to the world, they each blinked a few times. "Um...I'm pretty sure I'm not a mermaid." Yuffie said with a shrug, the three standing on the shoreline of a beach.

Sora looked from herself before around the area, then finally to the ocean directly ahead. "I guess since we didn't teleport into the water, this world's magic didn't effect us the same way it did before." she mused silently, tilting her head down in thought.

"Makes sense, but I'm pretty sure we don't need to get into the water." Leon claimed, to which the other two glanced toward him.

However, his own eyes were gazing to the side and toward multiple Nobodies. These quickly disappearing after being noticed by the group, making each of them look around cautiously. "That King Triton guy much be doing a good job of keeping these things out of the ocean. But in turn..." Yuffie started as the other two simply nodded, them knowing what she was leading up to.

"...they've all moved to the land." Sora added softly, ending the other girl's words.

However, instantly after her words, the three turned quickly toward a nearby cave when the sound of footsteps in the sand were heard. There being a shadowed figure moving toward them as they each moved into a battle-ready stance. Once this being came out of the shadows, it revealed to be a rather handsome-looking man. Him having black hair, which was combed to the side, as well as piercing blue eyes. His outfit consisted of a rather plain white shirt, the sleeves being rolled up past the elbows. Along with this, he wore a pair of blue pants and tall black boots, the latter of which had the tops folded down.

"Oh.." he spoke out while looking between the three; "...I didn't think there would be anyone else here on the beach."

"Well, we were just passing through." Sora claimed, quickly glancing around to make sure there weren't any signs of Nobodies.

"I see, well you can stay as long as you'd like. I was just hoping to see someone today." the man said as he walked up to the shoreline.

"What sort of someone?" Yuffie questioned in a suspicious tone, her and other two immediately thinking that it might have something to do with the Organization.

"It might sound crazy, but there was a girl whom saved me from drowning in a storm. I don't remember much as I only saw her diving into the water when I came to consciousness. But I do recall she had red hair and I'm pretty sure she was talking about wishing to see other worlds." he answered, holding a hand to his forehead as if it was hard for him to remember.

"Or at least something along those lines." he continued with a sheepish smile.

"But I'm here to meet her in the hopes of saying 'thank you'." the man finished while turning his gaze back to the ocean.

The three blinked a few times at first before looking back to one another. After doing so, they all came to an agreement between themselves that the person he's talking about is Ariel. Though, since they knew mermaids weren't common knowledge to those whom dwelled on the land, they couldn't say anything. nodding their heads slowly in response. However, they wouldn't need to as the man gasped and pointed towards the ocean quickly; "There...the must be her." he claimed, moving a bit into the water as if to try and get a closer look.

Sora glanced from him to the area he was pointing before noticing the streak of red moving through the water. Despite not wishing to say anything or draw attention, the brown-haired girl couldn't hold on any more and just called out. "Ariel~!"

Immediately following this, the red in the water stopped and rose up and indeed revealed Ariel herself. Though, she had slightly more defined features from the last time as she had aged a little more than a year. "Sora?" she whispered back with a blinking gaze.

After just a brief second, Sora rushed across the water. However, she instinctively froze it while going forward, allowing her to reach Ariel without actually getting wet. But it did cause the man on the shore to gaze at this in shock, him not sure of what to think of this strange occurrence. Leading for Leon to just let out a sigh and give Yuffie a nod, whom returned the gesture. The teen then moved behind the man stealthily and hit the back of his neck, knocking him out cold.

Yet, Leon sighed once more and rubbed his eyes; "I meant for you to try and explain this to him." he stated in a groan.

Yuffie blinked a few times to him, to which she then smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of her neck. "I-I guess I misread that one." he hummed out with a chuckle to match her smile.

All the while, Sora and Ariel met just a few meters off shore, to which they hugged one another tightly. The former kneeling down on the ice while the latter used their embrace to keep herself afloat in the water. "I'm so glad you're here~! It's been such a long time~!" the red-haired girl called out happily.

"It has~! I'm so sorry I was away for so long, but there was so much to do." Sora explained as the pair broke their hug slowly, to which she smiled to the other teen.

Whom waved a hand in response while using her tail to keep herself from sinking too far into the water. "It's alright, I figured something might have happened after you left. So all I could hope for was that you were still alive." Ariel said with a small smile of her own.

Said teen grinned lightly as she then sat down on the ice, making it was easier for them to talk . "Well, I'm alive and kicking." Sora stated as she made a thumbs up gesture with a hand.

The other girl giggled softly to this at first, yet her gaze drifted down to the brown-haired teen's legs. "So this is what you normally look like?" she asked, tilting her head to the side curiously.

"Yep...though I've grown a bit since we last saw one another." the brown-haired girl responded while nodding her head.

"Though...I guess we both have." she continued, looking the mermaid over for a brief moment.

Said teen chuckling with a shrug, yet she quickly spotted the other two on the beach and raised a brow. "Are they your friends, like Donald, Goofy and Zola?" she asked in a whisper, to which Sora gave a nod of her head.

"Yeah, that's Leon...and that's Yuffie." the brown-haired teen introduced, pointing from on to the other while doing so.

The pair on the shoreline gave a small wave in greeting, yet it also drew Ariel's attention to the unconscious man laying on the sand next to them. "Oh! That's the man I saved from drowning." she started, to which the two girls made their way closer to the land.

"There was a massive storm the other night and I saw him struggling against the waves. So I brought him to shore as quickly as I could." Ariel continued as she beached herself onto the shore, yet kept the end of her tail in the water.

"Sounds like it was a pretty intense storm." Yuffie commented with a blinking gaze toward the mermaid, it being the first time she was physically meeting one.

"It really was...the waves were even higher than the ship he was sailing on." the red-haired teen said, nodding her head and pointing to the unconscious man.

"Well, if the ships I've seen are any indication...I'd say that was pretty dangerous." Sora uttered silently, almost more to herself than anything.

Though, Leon seemed to be the only one whom figured out that her words were more out of the possibility of getting wet, than anything else. Making him just sigh silently and clear his throat quickly before the others could continue. "We should probably move on. We do have a mission to do after all." he stated in a firm manner.

"A mission?" Ariel echoed while looking to each of them, an eager expression rising on her features.

"Yep...kinda like what we did here last time in defeating a bunch of bad guys and make sure the Keyhole is locked good and tight." Sora responded, causing the red-haired girl's excitement to simply increase all the more.

"Well lets do it then~!" she declared, getting ready to get back into the water.

However, when she noticed no one else was following her lead, she blinked a few times. But the realization quickly set in as she looked to her tail and then back to the group. "I guess I won't be coming along for this one, huh?" she muttered in a tone that clearly showed her disheartened feelings.

Sora looked down in thought for a moment before quickly speaking up; "Actually...maybe you can."

This made each of the other three look to her in a bit of confusion, yet Leon slowly tilted his head to the side in question. "Are you planning on giving her legs?" he asked, though it was evident from his voice that he didn't quite approve.

"That...and more." Sora claimed with a wink before turning to Ariel.

"You might feel a bit of itching around your tail and fins, but just stay as still as you can." she continued, holding out both hands in the process.

Despite the mermaid blinking a few times, she nodded her head in response and closed both eyes. At which point, the red-haired teen was engulfed in a bright white light that emanated from Sora's hands. "That should do it." said girl whispered to her with a small smile.

Once the light died down, it revealed Ariel with normal human legs. Though, she was also wearing new clothes that consisted of a pink t-shirt, a pair of skin-tight green pants that had an almost scale-like appearance. She also had on a thin corset-like vest over the shirt, tall boots and bracers on her forearms, all of which were a sandy-brown color. The red-haired teen almost looking like she could be a pirate, but there was no doubt that she belonged in such a world.

Upon seeing this, Yuffie blinked a few times before turning toward Sora with a devious grin. All the while, said girl was looking Ariel up and down as she appeared satisfied with her work. "Perfect...now we can go."

* * *

 **Or...maybe not, cause she has to actually get used to walking. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter and will let me know what you thought of it. So until next time...when I hope it'll be a properly timed update.**


	39. Atlantica part II

**Well hey, I actually got this out out on time...more or less. Hope you all enjoy. ^^**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 38: Atlantica part II

"That's it...one foot in front of the other." Sora said softly, stepping backward while holding both of Ariel's hands.

The red-haired teen slowly moving forward, her legs noticeably wobbling with each step she took. During all of this, Leon stood a few meters to the side with a heavy sigh. Beside him however, Yuffie simply grinned widely as she watched the teens. Sora continuing to help Ariel to walk until the girl was able to do it on her own without her legs shaking. Despite taking about fifteen minutes, the girl could finally walk and even jog without any difficulties.

After she was ready, the group headed through the cave the man came through. Whom of which was slung over Leon's shoulder, them deciding it best to not just leave him unconscious on the beach. As they came to the end of the cave, the four soon found themselves just outside of a large town. It being similar to the one Belle was living in, only three or four times larger in its scale. Though, the thing that drew the most attention was the huge castle on the beach front near of where they first arrived. None of them seeing it, due to the plateau that the cave have been dug through.

Yet as they gazed at the structure, the group couldn't help but admire the architecture. It sharing the same white and red theme the other buildings in the town had, giving everything a unified appearance. However, it didn't take long for some of the passing people to notice the man on Leon's shoulder. "Prince Eric?!" one of them called out, leading for a mob of townsfolk to surround the group within seconds.

"Did you say, Prince Eric?"

"Yes, the one in the same."

"What happened to him?"

"Are you holding him hostage?"

"Is he unconscious?"

Why do you have our Prince?"

Were just some of the claims and questions the four heard while the crowd thickened more and more until they could barely even move. "Hold on~!" Sora called out loudly, holding up both hands in order to gain everyone's attention.

Following this, much of the mob quieted and settled for just murmuring between themselves while listening to the teen speak. "We found the Prince unconscious on the beach! We don't know how or why, but it's best everyone stay inside for the time being! We'll bring the Prince back to the palace so he can rest! As well as investigate this incident! We appreciate your cooperation!" she announced, looking around to all of the people while doing so.

Once she finished, the crowd slowly began to nod in response and head inside their houses. This making Sora smile softly, to which they each headed toward the palace doors. Of which had opened not long after Yuffie gave a quick knock on them, revealing an elder man with a rather large nose. "P-Prince Eric!" he exclaimed in a panic, looking the raven-haired man over many times.

Leon then shifted the prince off his shoulder and into his arms, in order to make it easier for someone else to take him. "He's alright, just unconscious." he said while looking to some of the nearby guards, whom quickly rushed over to the group.

"What happened?" the old man questioned with a glance to each of the four.

"We're not sure...we just found him like this." Leon answered in a silent tone, one of the guards quickly taking the Prince into his own arms.

Once he had, he and the other guards turned to the elder gentleman as if asking what they should do. "Get him to his room, quickly!" was the response they received as the guards rushed off to do as ordered.

At which point, the older man turned back to the four with a tilt of his head in curiosity; "So he was laying unconscious on the ground?"

"On the beach, yes." Sora started, giving a nod along with her words.

"We were just walking by and happened to see him. Though, considering how his body was laying...I'd guess that he was knocked unconscious by some fiendish person." she continued, almost trying to sound overly dramatic while doing so.

Causing Yuffie to look sheepishly to the side, all while trying to hide this expression from everyone else. Thankfully, she succeeded and the elder gentleman then lead the group into a lounge-like room. "Firstly, I would like to thank each of you for bringing the Prince back. He has been going out on his own as of late, despite the threat of strange creatures across the town." he explained as each of the people sat down in nearby chairs.

Despite Ariel needing a moment to adjust and understand how to actually 'sit', she did so not long after the others. But it was evident from her almost constant shifting, that it felt rather strange to her. However, she still managed to pay attention to what was being said around her as Leon began questioning the elder man about where the 'creatures' had been sighted. "They were first spotted around the shorelines, but recently they've moved closer to the city." was the gentleman's answer.

"Unfortunately, any and all weapons we've tried using against them are completely ineffective. But...luckily for us, they appear to have some kind of schedule. So we've been able to avoid contact with them ever since our first contact with them." he continued, to which the others slowly nodded their heads.

"Which was when?" Sora asked softly, leaning forward slightly in her chair.

"About two weeks ago." the old man responded while tapping his chin thoughtfully.

The brown-haired girl nodded to this as she glanced to the side and out a nearby window. "Have they appeared to be looking for anything? Or repeating any strange actions?" she questioned while shifting her gaze back to the gentleman.

Whom tilted his head up in thought as if recollecting what he had seen and observed over the past two weeks. "Well...now that I think about it...they do seem to be congregating around a cave not far from here. I don't know if it's because they're looking for something...but it does seem to be where they go each time they appear." he said with a brief shrug of his shoulders.

Sora nodded her head to this while smirking softly; "Well, that's more than enough information for us. We'll be able to take it from here." she claimed, giving her signature smile to the man and standing up.

Said elder gentleman blinked many times as he looked from the teen, to the rest of the group. "A-Are you sure about this? I don't believe it's a good idea for you to try and fight such creatures...especially if they're not able to be harmed through any means we've come up with." he stated quickly, clearly worried for their safety.

"Not to worry, we've dealt with these types of beings before. And if it gets too dangerous, we'll make sure to get out." Leon said in a confident, but also reassuring tone.

Though the older man seemed as if he wanted to discourage them, he could tell from the determined look in their eyes that he wouldn't be able to. Which lead for him to just smile softly and nod his head; "Very well...would you like some guards to come with you for extra safety?" he asked softly, yet he could already tell what their response was going to be.

"Nah, we're good." Yuffie answered while grinning lightly.

The gentleman then just nodded with a shrug, to which he stood up along with the others and led them to the Eastern side of the castle. At which point, he gestured to a cavern still visible in the evening light. It being on the complete opposite side from where they entered the town, yet it appeared to lead into a tall hill. "That is the cave in which those creatures gather each day. It's around the time they start appearing right now, so you won't have long to wait." he explained, looking from the window, to each of the four.

"Alright, this should be a piece of cake." Sora declared as she just grinned once more and rushed out of the room.

Though Yuffie and Ariel smiled to this, Leon simply sighed heavily as they each followed after the teen. Them exiting the castle soon after, which was currently being locked down in preparation for the Nobodies' arrival. As the group neared the cave, they quickly began looking around in a very careful manner since they weren't sure if the creatures in white were already there or not. But they wouldn't have long to find out as they started hearing noises echoing off of the cavern walls.

This lead them to slowly make their way towards this sound, which was similar to that of shifting sand. Yet it was getting more and more difficult to navigate through the cave as the setting sun caused the group's surroundings to darken all the quicker. Eventually leaving them in near pitch black, to which they all came to a stop. "I can't see anything." Ariel whispered while squinting her eyes as if to try and see through the darkness.

Sora took a step forward and held a hand up, her casting a ball of light directly above their heads. Immediately following this, they saw a bunch of skeletons laid out across the sand. "Whoa..." the brown-haired teen muttered with a blinking gaze.

"Are these the bones of what the humans called...'Prirates'?" Ariel asked, her blinking multiple times as well.

"They're called 'Pirates'...but yes, it looks like they might be." Sora responded, looking to the skeletons as they appeared to have pirate-like clothing on them.

As they each looked around the area, thanks to the artificial light, they noticed multiple areas in which holes had been dug. "Hmm...looks like this area might have been a pirate cove and the original town builders found the treasures they buried." Yuffie uttered out in a thoughtful manner.

"Amazing..." the red-haired girl hummed silently to herself, all while looking around in excitement.

"It is." Sora commented in agreement, her practically bouncing up and down in enthusiasm.

However, they quickly looked around as small corridors of darkness began appearing around the group. Allowing for multiple Nobodies to appear from each one, which caused the four to be surrounded within seconds. "Well...I guess it was about time for them to show up." Sora said, shrugging her shoulders as she spoke.

Though it was almost instantly after these words that more of the creatures began flooding in from the outside of the cave. "You just had to say something." Yuffie groaned out with a heavy sigh, to which they all summoned their own weapons.

Even Ariel had a dark blue trident that Sora gifted her, which she claimed to have imbued with some of her magic. But it was time to find out if it would work for the red-haired girl as the group immediately began fighting the Nobodies. Leon and Yuffie having little trouble as most of the creatures were defeated within one or two of their attacks. Yet, Ariel was struggling a great deal as she was not only fighting with a very unfamiliar weapon, but also on legs. Which lead for Sora to help her every step of the way, giving the other teen time to adjust.

"There you go...now you're getting it." Sora stated as Ariel slashed a nearby Nobody with the trident.

It producing a quick surge of water that also blasted multiple more opponents away. After seeing this, Ariel just grinned widely as she felt truly accomplished. Though, upon noticing that Yuffie and Leon took care of all the rest, she huffed lightly. "Show offs." the brown-haired girl muttered with a pout toward the pair as well.

"Just be glad there weren't enough to overwhelm us in such a small space." Leon stated, him resting his weapon atop of his shoulder.

Sora sighed briefly before looking around, tilting her head slightly to the side as the source of the original sound was nowhere in sight. At which time, she closed both eyes and tried to focus on listening for the noise once more. Of which she quickly heard as it was still echoing softly off of the cavern's walls. "I can still hear it." she whispered while turning to the others.

"If I had to guess...I'd say these Nobodies were here to either look for something...or to guard it." Leon said in a thoughtful tone, him also glancing around the area.

Immediately after his words, each of the four looked from each other before further into the cave. Where they could now tell was where the sound was originating from, to which they then began heading towards it. But as they stepped into a much larger area of the cave, the four saw a tall object that Sora instantly recognized. It being a very similar coffin as the one Zexion's Absent Silhouette had been trapped inside of. However, this one was much larger in size, leading for the brown-haired teen to easily figure out whom was inside.

"Lexaeus..." she whispered out, to which she looked down and noticed that the shifting sand was coming from the coffin being pushed toward the exit from the inside.

"Even after getting trapped and sealed, he's still trying to get out. As stubborn as ever." Sora muttered, a soft and proud smile curling her lips.

* * *

 **And there you have it, will it be another Absent Silhouette? Or the real thing? But whichever one it is...what is he doing here? These questions, and many more...will be revealed on the next episode of Digimon, Digital Monsters~! Oops, wrong franchise. Next episode of Inverted Sky. ;) Until then everyone.**


	40. Atlantica part III

**Get ready for a bit more of a dialogue heavy chapter. But at the same time, it'll lead up to something interesting. I do apologize for being late in this update...I just had to watch Infinity Wars, can you blame me? Anyway, while this might not be as good as that movie...I hope you all still enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 39: Atlantica part III

Sora slowly moved toward the upright coffin, which was slowly inching forward. The sides being jerked toward the exit in alternating pushes, yet it quickly came to a stop as the teen placed a hand to the wooden surface. "Don't worry...I'll have you out of there in a jiffy." she whispered as a pulse of dark energy radiated through the casket.

This causing the chains surrounding it to shatter, all as Sora side-stepped to the side and watched the coffin's top to fall onto the ground. Revealing Lexaeus standing rather uncomfortably inside, yet he immediately stepped out and let out a heavy breath. The large man looking around to everyone present before focusing on Sora to his left side. "Yo." the girl said with a small smile and wave.

Though the man raised a brow toward her, he slowly nodded his head in his own greeting. "Hello again, Sora." he responded softly.

"Good to see you. It's been a while." the brown-haired teen said, her moving directly in front of the man as she smiled wider.

"Indeed, though I'm impressed that you found me so quickly." he started while crossing both arms across his chest.

"But I'm not sure if you should have." Lexaeus continued as his eyes narrowed slightly to the area around him.

"What do you mean?" Sora questioned, blinking a few times in curiosity.

"I was placed here as a trap for you, so I tried to escape on my own. Not only to prevent you from springing the trap, but to also not have to be saved." he claimed, his tone being quite firm.

Sora giggled softly to this while taking on a small grin; "Yep...just as stubborn as ever." she commented, nodding her head as she did.

Though Lexaeus raised a brow, he just gave a returning nod of his head to the teen. "Of course. I would never have someone rescue me, when I have the power to do it myself." he claimed in a stern voice, making Sora giggle once more.

"Fair enough, but if this is supposed to be a trap...then we better get out of here. I still have a Keyhole to seal...as well more Nobodies to defeat, so it would be best not to deal with a trap set up by Xemnas." the brown-haired girl suggested while halfway turning toward the way they came.

Upon seeing the others, she blinked a few times and smiled sheepishly. "Oh right...these are my friends; Ariel..Leon..and Yuffie." she introduced, gesturing to each individual with a hand.

"Everyone..." the teen continued, turning to the others as she pointed to the man next to her.

"...this is my friend..." she started, yet soon turned to the man once more as if asking for his assistance.

"Aeleus." was all he said at first, the group nodding in acceptance to this name.

"Also...I don't know if you could call us 'friends', we've barely had any true interactions." the man stated as he shrugged both shoulders.

Sora turned to him with a blinking gaze, yet pouted soon after. "Aw, now you're just being mean." she commented, all of them moving in the direction of the cave's exit.

"So what happened to you anyway?" the teen questioned silently while they walked.

"I awoke in Hollow Bastion along with Ienzo, Lea and Even. But while I stayed behind to do some research as to what happened to us, the others left to find answers. However, that made me an easy target for the remaining Organization members to ambush and restrain me inside that casket. I've only heard about those 'coffins' in passing from Vexen, but apparently he created them in order to force more wild Nobodies...to become completely subservient." Aeleus explained as he sent a brief glance toward the others since he knew they would give him suspicious gazes after his last comment.

"I don't know for sure if they work on any being, but they are strong enough from the inside to hold even the most powerful of Nobodies. So I hope my attempts to escape do prove that I am not, and will not be controlled...no matter what." he continued in an even more firm tone than before.

This making Sora smile widely in response, though she then tilted her head to the side once more. "So...how did you know this was a trap?" she asked in a thoughtful manner.

"Saix was the one whom told me. He mentioned that Xemnas wished to lure you to this world for the sake of something he's been planning ever since your first encounter with him." the man answered, causing not only Sora to pause and look to him in shock, but all the others in the group as well.

"He unfortunately doesn't know what this plan could be either, and his only warning was to make sure you leave this world as soon as possible." Aeleus finished silently, yet still very firmly in order to get his point across.

While Leon's eyes were narrowed in deep thought, Yuffie had her head tilted down for the same reason. Ariel on the other hand appeared to be worried since this was well beyond what she was expecting. At the same time however, she was also looking around cautiously. As if expecting for something to suddenly happen while they progressed through the cave. Yet Sora just appeared confident as she shrugged both shoulders and crossed both arms across her chest. "Aw, don't worry...I've gotten a lot tougher since the last time. So I can handle whatever Xemnas is scheming." she claimed with a small grin.

"Oh~, what an interesting conversation." a familiar voice said from directly ahead of them.

This instantly gaining their attention as Demyx was standing at the end of the tunnel with a grin on his features. "I'm glad that the Supreme One's guess was right. Saix really was a traitor." the blond continued, shrugging his shoulders.

Everyone's eyes widened slightly as they realized that all this was a trap more for Saix, than Sora. It making them understand that if Demyx gets away, the blue-haired man will be killed instantly. However, just as this thought went through their minds, the man created a corridor of darkness around himself. Demyx just grinning wider as he was quickly engulfed in the darkness; "Late-" yet his farewell was cut short as Sora punched him across the face.

Her having moved up to him in the blink of an eye as the black energy of the portal disbursed and vanished upon her strike's impact. It also knocking the blond into the rocky wall behind him with enough force to crack the stone. Demyx groaned in pain, yet still remained on his feet as he summoned his weapon as quickly as possible. But it wasn't able to block Sora's follow up front kick as it literally blasted him through the wall and out into the open air. Despite it being over three meters thick, the cavern wall practically exploded outward from the sheer force.

This shocking even Aeleus as he started to wonder if Sora's own physical strength already surpassed his own. Yet he didn't think too hard on it as he and the others followed the brown-haired teen, whom had chased after Demyx even before her foot touched back down onto the ground. Upon going outside, they saw to their relief that the wall Sora knocked the blond through was the one facing the ocean. Making it so that the town was unaffected by the sudden burst of rocks flying out from the hillside.

Though, the group then watched as Sora moved across the water as Demyx landed in the shallows of the oceanfront. Him quickly gathering dark energy around his body once more, but it instantly disbursed as a brief flash of magic echoed out from his cheek. Of which was already starting to bruise as it was where the brown-haired teen landed her initial punch. This making Demyx's eyes narrow, him figuring out that Sora cast some kind of spell during her attack in order to prevent him from leaving.

But he didn't get the chance to think of how to dispel this enchantment as Sora continued her assault. Of which was full of many martial arts-styled attacks she had learned from Shang. The force of these strikes however, were enough to cause huge waves each time. Demyx never having the time to block, deflect or dodge out of the way as he was completely overwhelmed. Yet for some strange reason, he didn't actually appear to be trying to get away from any of the girl's attacks.

After one last spinning kick, Sora knocked the blond further into the water as he immediately sank under the waves. The teen landing her feet with a soft click, upon a large chunk of ice she created with a blizzard spell. This having been in effect since she exited the cave, it forming a long path of ice from the new opening, to where she currently stood. Which was twenty meters to the left of it, as well as ten meters out into the ocean itself. Though, because she never attacked in a straight line, the ice path made circles, zig-zags, and even small loops.

Once Sora finally stopped however, she let out a breath and looked over her shoulder. Each of her friends were making their way across the ice as to try and help the girl in her fight. All of them knowing that it wasn't over as, despite Demyx's demeanor, he was still powerful enough to be in the Organization. This being confirmed when a gigantic swirl of water shot up from the ocean and produced the blond standing atop the surge. Him having his sitar summoned in both hands, to which he looked down to the group as they gathered around Sora.

"Too bad for all of you! We're completely surrounded in my element!" he called out, the wounds he sustained quickly healing as water flowed across his skin.

"I can heal whatever you throw at me and dish back twice as much!" the blond declared before starting to play his instrument.

"Ugh...I almost forgot how annoying his music is." Sora muttered silently, yet she and the others immediately had to jump out of the way from a massive whip of water.

"We gotta find a way to get him away from the water." Yuffie claimed quickly as they all rushed across the ice path to avoid more aqua-based attacks.

"No! We're too close to the town! We have to fight him here and now!" Leon countered while jumping over another water whip.

"But we can't reach him like this! He's a long ranged attacker!" Aeleus stated, summoning his large weapon and swinging it into the surge of water coming right for him.

His slash causing the water to disburse instantly, as well as part the ocean's surface a few dozen meters out from where he stood. "We have to do something about the water and attack him from up close!" he continued quickly, yet had to jump out of the way as the water near of the path's edge attempted to grab his feet.

But in the same moment, another torrent of water hit him in the chest and knocked him all the way back to the shore. The same happening to Leon and Yuffie as despite their agility, they were overwhelmed by the huge surge of water than came toward them. Following this, the ice path quickly shattered and left the three stranded on the land. All the while, Sora kept Ariel close by while protecting her from all of Demyx's water-based attacks.

"We got this~!" Sora called out with a wave before turning to her foe, whom just chuckled and smiled.

"Do you now? You might have got me stuck here, but you're gonna be regretting that decision really fast." the blond stated, flipping his wrist briefly as if ready to start playing.

"Dance water! Dance!" Demyx called out while using a small guitar pick made from water to play his sitar.

It actually sounding a great deal better than normal, which shocked Sora slightly. But her true shock came from seeing the water around her and Ariel blast upward until it blocked out the sun entirely. Them being trapped in a gigantic vortex that swirled around them in a slow, yet almost ominous manner. As if they would be attacked by the crushing wakes at any moment, but Sora's and Ariel's gaze never left Demyx's. Said man just smirking proudly as he knew they were basically trapped with no way out.

"Guess we'll have to fight fire with fire." the brown-haired girl muttered silently, yet only received a confused gaze from Ariel.

"I-It's a metaphor...we're gonna fight his water with our own." she explained in a sheepish tone.

"Then shouldn't it be; 'fight water with water'?" Ariel questioned while tilting her head slightly to the side.

Despite sighing, Sora just nodded her head slowly in response. "Yes...I guess it should be." she said with another, yet much heavier sigh.

'So much for sounding cool.' the teen continued in her mind before finally summoning her Keyblade.

* * *

 **And there you have it, the beginning of what I hope will be a cool fight. And if it seems weird to toss those three to the side, it just seemed very 'Kingdom Hearts' to do that since they did it a lot in the games. There were also bits of added lore on my side of things since I am gonna add things, outside of the worlds, to make things more interesting and original. E.G: The coffin stuff will have a point and reason. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed and will let me know what you thought. Until next time.**


	41. Atlantica part IV

**This is a little bit longer than usual, but not by too much. I figured it was necessary considering the point of the story it is. But I hope all of you enjoy.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 40: Atlantica part IV

As the mass of swirling water around Sora and Ariel began to speed up with Demyx's playing, the teens moved closer together. Them watching as water began to slowly create a dome over their heads, as if to show that there was truly no way out. But the brown-haired girl looked to her friend with a confident smile and nod; "Don't worry, we can do this. Trust me." she claimed, lifting her Keyblade up into the air.

Ariel blinked briefly, yet she slowly took on a smile of her own and copied the other teen's actions with her trident. Once the two weapons touched, a faint glow began to emanate from them and gradually started getting brighter. However, Demyx didn't seem keen on allowing them to continue as with one stroke of his sitar, all the swirling water crashed down toward the pair. It looking like the breaking of a dam from all sides as the water surged forward at great speed.

It engulfed both Sora and Ariel as they sank beneath the waves within seconds, making Demyx the only one visible to the group on the shore. Each of whom were standing at the water's edge, as they could only watch all this. The blond man then just chuckled lightly and placed a hand to his cheek, the soft light radiating from it, slowly starting to fade. After a few seconds, rather than disappearing, it suddenly became brighter.

This caused Demyx to blink in shock, before turning his attention to the water under the tornado of water he was using to stand above the ocean. It beginning to swirl heavily into a massive whirlpool, which began pulling both him and and his 'pedestal' into the center. The blond quickly jumped backward from multiple columns of water in order to get out of reach from this vortex. Yet his eyes widened slightly as he saw Ariel and Sora revealed in the center. Them standing on the sand of the ocean floor as they kept their weapons upwards.

As the water parted further and further, it also showed that they were completely dry as they had actually repelled all of Demyx's attack. "See? Told ya." Sora whispered out with a small smile to Ariel, whom was grinning widely.

The red-haired teen holding her trident even higher, all while the other girl slowly lowered her Keyblade. Showing that it was now only Ariel creating this whirlpool, but it neither shrunk, nor slowed down. The former mermaid holding this enormous vortex in place with no visible difficulty visible in her expression. "I thought you said it was 'imbued' with _your_ magic." she muttered in a chuckle, to which she looked over to Sora for a brief moment.

Said girl giggled lightly and shrugged both shoulders; "Well...I wanted you to feel more confident about using it, that way...your own inner magic would awaken in full force." she explained, grinning softly the whole time.

'Not to mention, I basically did the same thing for Mulan. I claimed to have given her some of my magic, but I really only opened the channels of her inner magic so I could teach her how to use it. And when I saw her channeling that power through a weapon, I figured it must have made it easier. So I decided it would be more effective if I taught Ariel to use magic through a weapon from the start.' Sora thought to herself before looking up toward Demyx as he was rather dumbstruck by this change of events.

Though, he quickly regained his composure and brought his sitar out to play once more. This lead the brown-haired girl to look at Ariel with a wink; "You got this." was all she said while taking a step back.

The other teen blinking briefly, as she was unsure if this was a good decision or not. However, she didn't bother questioning it as she just took in a deep breath and inched a foot forward. Her watching Demyx play his instrument, which produced rather pleasant music. But directly over his head, a great deal of water was being shaped and pressurized. It taking the form of a gigantic spear that was over fifty meters long, and only five meters wide. This obviously being a powerful, but very specifically targeted type of attack. Despite it likely being normally easy to avoid, due to the pair's limited movement, it was going to be impossible not to get hit in some way.

"Still think so?" Ariel uttered out nervously with a gulp.

"Definitely." was all Sora whispered out while placing a hand gently between her friend's shoulders.

The red-haired girl never noticing the slow changes in the other teen. The main of which was a blue colored aura surrounding her, as well as her eyes taking on a deeper hue than normal. Them even starting glow with pure magical energy as small blue wisps started radiating from the sides of her eyes. Though, Sora just remained focused on Ariel herself, as said teen took on a small smile and stepped forward once more. "Then I'll do it." she stated in full confidence.

Which just made Sora smile proudly of her friend, even her not seeming to have noticed the sudden change she underwent. Yet, her chance to catch on was quickly taken away when Demyx threw the gigantic spear toward them. Ariel just watched this with a narrowed gaze, an ocean blue aura slowly surrounding her entire body. She then spun the trident around between her hands, and with a sliding step forward, she thrust her weapon in the same direction.

Immediately upon doing this, the teen's magic engulfed her trident and connected with the spear of water. Causing the water itself to start gushing out to the sides as the spear was slowly being dwindled away thanks to Ariel's power. But even before Demyx's attack was halfway gone, the red-haired girl's strength was starting to fade. The immense pressure of the spear starting to overwhelm her and slowly start pushing the teen backwards.

Not only was she combating the assault, but also keeping the whirlpool in place. Though, when she reached a third of the way through, the vortex began to shrink in size at a rapid rate. Yet Sora just smiled softly and gently placed a hand between her friend's shoulders once more. "It's alright, you can do this. I believe in you." she whispered silently as an overwhelming amount of power began to flood through both girls.

Ariel's eyes widened before blinking many times, but she then stepped and pushed forward with her trident. This disbursing the rest of the water spear, which simply revealed two more rushing towards the pair. Demyx obviously not just standing around assuming he had won, especially not against Sora. However, as these twin spears flew at them, Ariel simply smirked confidently and spun around with the trident.

At the same time, as if following the weapon's movements, a huge wave rose up and clashed against the sides of these spears. Of which caused a large burst of high-pressure water to explode out in all directions, but the dual attacks had been obliterated. Demyx blinked in shock as he now had to rethink of how he was going to do this, but Sora didn't give him the chance. The brown-haired girl appearing directly beside him as right where she originally kicked him through the cave, was a sigil for teleportation.

The blond's eyes widened heavily, but he was immediately sucked down into the swirling water. Sora simply having placed a hand to his back, before he was simply pulled down by some invisible force. "Kinda ironic that I awakened my Wisdom Form in a situation like this." she uttered out as she was literally hovering in the air.

Sora looking down at herself as, in fading sun, she became the brightest thing in the sky. Her glowing a bright blue color that shined down even brighter than the moon itself. But the girl's clothes were now blue and black, appearing very similar to how they looked in her Valor form. Save for the bottom of her half dress, which now sported a blue, flame-like design. The brown-haired teen took on a soft smile as she gazed down to the Ariel. "While the Valor form depends on my will to defend others, the Wisdom form goes based off of my trust in them." the girl continued just as Demyx emerged from the water with another tornado-like swirl.

"So it looks like my unwavering belief in you was the catalyst I needed to awaken this form." Sora claimed with a small grin before looking down to her free hand.

"And with 'this' much magic power...I think I can finally try out that Fourth Tier spell I've been wanting to use ever since leaving Master Yen Sid's tower." she continued, her slowly moving this hand behind and over her head.

Upon reaching out towards the sky, a great many storm clouds swirled into existence. These being extremely dark, with a deep green tint to them. But it was clear from how they were forming, the clouds were actually congregating around the point of where Sora's hand was. Which was slowly balling into a fist as she just looked down at Demyx's shocked gaze. Him glancing around at the sky as the clouds filled the area as far as the eye could see.

Though, as he turned his attention back to the brown-haired girl, he blinked a few times as the clouds almost gave the illusion that she had a pair of wings behind her. Yet, the further the teen's fingers curled, the more the focal point of the clouds began to widen. Rather than showing beyond the dark billows however, there was nothing but blackness. As if Demyx was simply gazing into an abyss in the sky, making him instinctively move away while atop his swirling 'pedestal'. The roaring torrent of water being completely drowned out by the loud thunder claps echoing from the atmosphere.

Sora slowly began to smirk while returning the blond man's stare, to which she the whispered out two simple words. "Shadow Flare."

Immediately following this, large black streams began flooding out of the darkness in the sky. All of them rushing down toward Demyx as said man's eyes widened a great deal when hearing the spell's name. Him instantly trying to get away as fast as possible, as he dropped himself down to the ocean's surface. At which point, he began speeding across the water almost as if he was ice skating somehow. But despite dodging the first few attacks, the streams were moving too fast for the blond to keep up with.

Yet the moment one of them struck down close enough to Demyx, it instantly exploded and knocked him to the side. Despite him looking toward Ariel in the vortex's center, he knew better than to go after her since his best shot of escape was just outrunning Sora's assault. Which continued raining down as he quickly attempted to regain his speed. But once another stream hit directly in front of him, the subsequent eruption set him up into the air.

This lead for dozens of streams to rush into his body one after another, which struck him from multiple angles. Them actually being orbs of dark magic that created a stream of energy while moving through the air. But upon making contact, they exploded with a violent blast of power that literally threw Demyx's nearly limp body all the way to the beach side. Him having burned clothes and skin as he tried to lift himself off the sand after landing, as if knowing what was coming next.

It being too late however, as a massive black orb rushed down at him and struck the blond directly in the chest. Making Demyx let out a scream of pain as he was engulfed in a tall pillar of dark magic, which reached up into the clouds. Though, as quickly as it came, the pillar vanished and left almost no trace of it as only the man in black remained. Him laying on his back breathing heavily as he just gazed up at the now clearing sky with a sigh. "What a hit." he muttered silently with a brief chuckle.

The group already on the beach rushing toward him as if ready to finish him off. Yet when they saw that his very being was slowly stating to fade, they lowered their weapons. Each of the three turning to Sora and Ariel as they made their way over via the ocean and the air. Upon landing on the ground, the former of the two slowly lost her Wisdom form as it actually still felt incomplete in a way. And while most of the others didn't seem very endeared to Demyx, the brown-haired teen offered a small smile to him.

"I know we never really got along all that well, but I always thought that out of anyone left in the Organization...you and Saix were the only ones I felt I could become friends with." she said in a soft tone while looking to the blond.

Whom blinked a few times in surprise as he shrugged both shoulders; "Well, maybe if you actually sit through one of my songs...I might consider it." Demyx commented with another chuckle.

Sora giggled back to this as she let out a breath; "We'll see. I just hope I didn't make 'this' end for you too painful." she said as there was honest regret in her voice.

"Heh, it's alright. It was a heck of a spell you got me with. It might even be better than the original from the guy whom created it." the man mused, letting out a heavy sigh as he looked back up to the almost night sky.

Sora blinked a few times as despite knowing the Nobody only had a few moment before fading away, her curiosity got the better of her. "And who was that? Cause Master Yen Sid mentioned that it was a spell I shouldn't use, nor should I try and find out whom it was whom created it." she said silently, yet immediately received stern gazes from the others.

Something of which she smiled sheepishly at while shrugging; "What? How could I not look into the restricted section of his spell collection?" she asked quickly, looking between each of them.

Demyx simply laughed weakly to this as half of his being was already gone; "Well...I actually shouldn't tell you, since he's a dangerous man. But how about this; if you listen to one of my songs all the way through, I'll tell you." he said with a small smile as he was seconds away from disappearing.

"Deal." Sora responded, offering a smile of her own while taking one of the blond's fading hands.

"Maybe this time, we can actually get along." she continued softly, her being a bit saddened by this, despite knowing this wasn't the end for him.

"Maybe...and maybe I'll finally get to live my dream as a professional musician." were Demyx's final words before his form was completely gone.

Sora looked down for a moment before standing up and clearing her throat; "We should probably head to Hollow Bastion to pick him up. I don't want anyone from the Organization getting to him before we do. Xemnas might still be able to get important information out of him, so we should go and get him as soon as possible." she said quickly while looking to the others.

Each of whom were rather impressed that she managed to think ahead so fast, but they each gave a nod in response. Even Aeleus was in agreement to this as regardless of his own feelings toward Demyx, he trusted Sora's judgment. Her having shown true promise in not only power and strength, but also adaptability and understanding of things. Aeleus believing that if the brown-haired girl wished to try and bring Demyx to their side, she would succeed.

"Well, while I think it's good for us to do that, I also don't think all of us need to go." Yuffie stated with a small grin curling her lips.

This made everyone turn toward her, yet only Ariel seemed to be catching on thanks to the raven-haired girl giving her a quick wink. "I think that the two of us can handle getting that guy out of danger. So how about you three just keep on going?" she continued, her pointing to Leon at the start before to the others at the end.

Aeleus raised a brow in question for a few moments, yet slowly gave a nod. "It would make sense if you wish to accomplish two missions at once." he said silently before turning to the red-haired teen near of him.

Said girl was just smiling widely as she nodded her own head quickly; "That sounds great to me! Does that mean I could visit other worlds?" she exclaimed in excitement.

"Yes...yes it does." Sora responded as a smile developed on her own features, which showed her agreement to this plan.

"Alright, it's settled then. Leon and I will head back to Hollow Bastion to help out blondie...as well as explain to everyone else the situation. Letting you three continue on with the mission of helping out the other worlds." Yuffie said as her grin widened, to which everyone just slowly nodded their heads in response.

Save for Leon, whom just sighed silently as his expression basically said what he wanted to say; 'Don't I get a vote in all this?'

* * *

 **And that's that. Sora has some new companions traveling with her. What sort of adventures and high-jinks will they get up to now? Find out in the following chapters of Inverted Sky~! Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed and will let me know your opinions on this chapter. Until next time everyone.**


	42. Agrabah part I

**Sorry this chapter is a week late. I literally never got the chance to do any writing last week, I was almost constantly busy. But, I hope this chapter makes up for it and will hold back any metaphorical and literal pitchforks you guys and gals might be preparing.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 41: Agrabah part I

Ariel gazed out and around the massive, dawn-lit desert around them with a blinking gaze. Despite how barren and desolate the area was, the red-haired teen held an expression of amazement. "Whoa~, it's just like a huge beach without any water." she hummed out in an excited tone.

"This is what the humans call a...'dessert', right?" Ariel questioned as she turned toward Sora and Aeleus.

But since the former had her back turned and appeared to be concentrating on something, the latter was the one whom answered. "Actually...it's 'desert' with only one 'S'." he said silently, him glancing from one teen to the next.

"A 'dessert' is a snack you eat, while a 'desert' is a desolate landscape...like this one." Sora added while glancing toward Ariel from over her shoulder.

"A good way to remember it is that when eating a dessert like ice cream...you always want at least two scoops. Just like how 'dessert' has two 'S''s." she continued, a small grin forming on her features.

The girl obviously thinking about eating ice cream now, yet she quickly pushed this from her mind and turned to face the two. "A-Anyway...I don't sense much darkness in this world. So it looks like this trip might be pretty straight forward." she uttered, glancing to the sides as if wondering where to go first.

"You mean, like what you did in my world the first time?" Ariel asked as she tilted her head to the side curiously.

"Yep." Sora responded quickly, her looking fully to the red-haired girl with a small smile.

"But it seems that all the Nobodies in this are located in the city not far from here, rather than near the Keyhole." Aeleus stated while shifting his gaze from one side to the next as it was in complete opposite directions.

"Meaning, unless we split up...we have to travel across this desert twice." he continued, crossing his arms and turning to Sora once more.

"Exactly, but since I don't want to split up..." the brown-haired teen began, tilting her head down in thought.

Yet as she was about ready to speak, Sora seemed to think of something as she took on a grin. "Ah! That should work." she muttered silently to herself before bringing a hand out.

"This will make the trip really easy for us. Especially when that sun gets a bit higher in the sky. It's gonna get really hot...and fast." the brown-haired teen said as she briefly glanced to the sun slowly rising in the distance.

Though, in Sora's outstretched hand, a small amount of silver magic began to gather within it. This taking the shape of a marble-sized orb, to which Sora then shifted to the side and threw it with great force. The small ball flying through the air before disappearing from view. It actually landing not far from where the entrance to the Cave of Wonders was located. Her spending the first few moments upon their arrival trying to remember the direction of said area, as well as Agrabah.

"Now all we have to do is teleport once we've cleared the city of Nobodies." the girl claimed with a small smile curling her lips.

Ariel blinked multiple times before smiling back and nodding in agreement; "Well, what are we waiting for?" she called out in obvious excitement, her very eager to see even more new places.

Though, as they walked, Sora looked to the red-haired teen with a tilt of her head. "You know, I was meaning to ask...but...is it really alright that we didn't tell your dad about you coming with me?"

The other girl blinked once more as she immediately stopped in mid-step; "Oh..." she started softly, to which she quickly began walking again to catch up with the other two.

"W-Well...um...to be honest..." Ariel continued, giving a sheepish smile while speaking.

"In all the excitement, even when you resealed the Keyhole in my grotto...I just sort of forgot about telling him." she answered, making both girls take on a rather nervous expressions.

Each teen knowing that even if they went back now, they'll be in big trouble. Yet they quickly shifted their attention to the city directly up ahead as they approached the front gates. However, several guards were posted outside and made it clear that they didn't have any intention of letting the group inside. Which lead for Sora to come up toward the biggest of the guards, whom gazed down at her with a narrowed gaze.

"The city is closed until the dawn patrol have finished their sweep of the city. We're not gonna let anyone inside, regardless of the reason." he claimed in a firm tone while crossing both arms across his chest.

"And you are?" Aeleus questioned as he was in fact, slightly larger than the guard he was speaking to.

"Captain of the Guard, Razoul." the man responded, his voice being one filled with authority and strength.

"Well, Razoul...what is your patrol looking for anyway?" Sora asked with a tilt of her head in curiosity, her obviously not being impressed by the captain in the slightest.

Something of which he noticed and huffed at, yet he then glanced toward the gates behind him for a brief second before back to the teen. "Some strange creatures that showed up all of a sudden." he answered, him almost seeming to growl while speaking.

"It's almost like what happened over a year ago when Princess Jasmine went missing and we had to barricade the Sultan in the palace." Razoul continued silently to himself as he glanced upward in thought about this incident.

After his words however, Ariel turned to Sora with a blinking gaze. This being rather interesting for the red-haired girl, as she had only heard of Sora's journey from the teen herself. But now she was catching a glimpse from someone whom was actually affected by the girl's deeds. "Speaking of the Princess, is she around?" the brown-haired teen asked, raising a brow midway through.

Razoul immediately looked at her in a suspicious manner, him narrowing both eyes while tightening his crossed arms. "And what is your relation with Princess Jasmine?" he demanded firmly while puffing his chest out to try and appear more intimidating.

"For your information, I was the one whom helped bring her back after she went missing. So I'd say we're good friends." Sora huffed out her crossing her own arms as she did.

"W-What?" the captain uttered in a bit of shock while taking a quick step back, as if her words threw him off slightly.

"What proof do you have?!" Razoul questioned quickly, regaining his composure as quickly as he lost it.

Sora raised brow to him at first before just shrugging both shoulders; "Just tell her that 'Sora' is here, she'll tell you." was all she answered.

"Hmph...a convenient answer." the man retorted, him gazing at the girl in a suspicious manner.

"And if she claims to not even know whom you are?" he continued as his left brow slowly lifted.

"If she says that...then I'll just leave and you won't have to worry about me coming around anymore." the brown-haired teen answered as she shrugged once more.

This seemed to satisfy Razoul as he turned to one of the other guards and give them a nod. At which point, that man rushed off into the smaller door to the side of the gate, which was obviously only meant for the guards' use only. Him being gone for almost fifteen minute before finally returning. Yet Sora had used this time to tell Ariel and Aeleus about her previous visit to this world. Which left the captain a bit puzzled as the brown-haired girl made sure he could listen in on the conversation.

"Wow, that sounds amazing. But..." Ariel started, to which she tilted her head curiously and blinked multiple times.

"What's a 'genie'?" she finished, making Sora chuckle softly.

Though, she didn't get the chance to explain as the guard returned, him looking rather out of breath from all the running. But when he went to Razoul and whispered in his ear, the captain's eyes widened in utter shock. He then turned toward Sora in actual nervousness as he spoke up; "M-My apologies Lady Sora, you are most welcome here in Agrabah." he said quickly before gesturing for the guards to open the gates.

While they did so, Aeleus glanced to Sora with a raised brow. "Seems you have made an impression on the royal members in more than just one world."

Sora smiled sheepishly in response to him and scratched the back of her neck; "It wasn't my intention...it just sort of happened." she said with a light giggle.

The three then started heading into the city as it appeared to be just now coming alive with the sun finally rising over the city walls. Shop owners were getting their stalls prepared, civilians began buying goods preemptively to get ahead of the rush that would be starting in a few short hours. Yet the trio, as well as Razoul, were heading straight toward the palace at the far end of the city. 'It might be slow, but this is the first time I've seen this place with more than just a few people around.' Sora mused to herself with a small smile on her features.

Despite receiving a few stares from the people whom were out, none of them seemed to be malicious in any way. Though, one of them was a bit more interesting, as it was from a child obviously living on the street. After locking eyes with them, Sora just gave a small smile and wink to them. This actually seemed to cheer the child up as they nodded their head while the group passed by. Once they arrived at the front gates of the palace, said entrance was immediately pulled open to reveal the court yard.

Where of which Jasmine was waiting with a smile of relief; "I'm so glad you're here." she started, meeting the group halfway.

"Are these two with you as well?" Jasmine asked with a glance toward Aeleus and Ariel, to which Sora nodded her head in response.

"Yep." the brown-haired teen responded before introducing the pair to the Princess and visa-versa.

"It's a pleasure and an honor to meet you both." Jasmine greeted silently, her then immediately turning back to Sora with a worried gaze.

"Though, I'm afraid there isn't much time for pleasantries...Agrabah is under attack again. Strange creatures, not too unlike those from a year ago, have been showing up each night for the last two weeks. We've done all we can to keep them back, but nothing seems to work." she continued as a rather grim expression formed on her features.

"Atop of that, Aladdin went missing a few days ago. We're not even sure of where he could have gone." the tan-skinned girl finished silently, appearing quite sad about this.

Sora smirked lightly before waving a hand; "Don't worry...I'll do something about those creatures, as well as find Aladdin." she claimed with a small grin.

Jasmine smiled softly to this and nodded her head; "I'm sure you will, I'll also make sure to thank you properly for your help this time as well." Jasmine responded while giving a slightly wider smile.

The brown-haired teen just giggled with a shrug; "We'll see when we get back." she hummed out, turning to Aeleus and Ariel.

"Well, you heard her...ready for our adventure?" she asked as a wider grin curled her lips.

"Most definitely." the red-haired girl responded, a grin spreading on her own features.

"If we must." the large man beside them stated, him shrugging briefly with a sigh.

Sora nodded to this briefly before turning to Jasmine and giving a quick thumbs up; "We'll be back soon." she declared as the three headed back out into the city.

Upon leaving, Razoul turned to Jasmine with a tilt of his head in confusion. "I thought you ordered for us to bring back Aladdin, dead or alive." he commented silently.

"Sora and her friends are on a need to know basis, and she doesn't need to." the Princess responded, her demeanor immediately changing as she seemed more cold.

"Understood, Princess Jasmine." Razoul said quickly as he instantly headed out as well.

"With any luck, I'll be able to use the street rats to take care of these blasted creatures. And once they're gone, it's only a matter of time before I can be rid of all of those peasants." Jasmine said to herself, yet she quickly began to morph in form and became the Sultan.

Him being a very short, yet very rotund man with a white beard and mustache. His clothes were white with golden lining, as well as a large blue feather on his turban. "Then nothing will stand in my way of ruling over Agrabah the way I wish." he muttered with a devious grin curling his old, yet tanned features.

* * *

 **And there you have it, Agrabah is in trouble and our group of...'heroes?'...are the only ones whom can stop it. I hope all of you enjoyed and will let me know what you thought. Until next time.**


	43. Agrabah part II

**Man, I'm not having good luck with getting time to write as of late. Well, I hope this will make up for it and serve as some entertainment for all the Kingdom Hearts fans out there. ;)**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 42: Agrabah part II

Sora moved through the city together with her friends as they seemed to be taking all of the back-alleyways they could. Something of which drew the attention of many gruff-looking men, each of whom appeared to be 'thugs' in some fashion or another. Though most of them were ready to attack the two teens, the sight of Aeleus instantly deterred them from approaching. But despite the man and Ariel noticing this, Sora seemed to be completely oblivious as they continued on.

"Um...Sora...what exactly are we looking for around here anyway?" the red-haired girl questioned, sending a quick glance around the area.

"We're here to find any traces of darkness the Nobodies left behind, so that we can pinpoint where it is they arrive in the city." Sora explained with a wink at her friend.

"And now..." she continued as they reached a wide open, dead end area, to which she placed a hand to the furthest wall.

"...we've found one of the spots." the teen finished, turning around with a small grin on her features.

As Ariel blinked many times in confusion and curiosity, Aeleus examined the area for a moment. Him quickly noticing that where the teen put her hand, was a small flare of darkness that surged around her fingers. "This area is indeed filled with dark energy." he began silently while looking over the wall, before turning back to the brown-haired girl.

"Though...I am curious, since when have you been able to locate such things?" Aeleus questioned as he raised a brow curiously.

Sora blinked a few times as she slowly tilted her head up in thought; "Hmm...right about now...ish." she hummed out with a shrug of her shoulders.

The other looked at her with an inquisitive gaze as if wanting a further explanation, making the teen smile sheepishly. "Well, I guess to be more specific...it would be around the time of when I activated my Wisdom Form." she continued, crossing both arms while looking down.

"I don't know if there is a relation, but I do feel as if my senses have been heightened very slightly. Just like how my natural strength increased after I activated my Valor Form for the first time. Though...this feels like a much lesser degree, so it's possible my Wisdom Form wasn't really finished." Sora stated, her seeming to be speaking more to herself by the end.

Yet she quickly snapped back to the other two and smiled once more with a shrug; "But whatever the case, it took me a while to find what I was looking for...but I managed it. So now we can head out to the Cave of Wonders to seal the Keyhole, since the Nobodies won't be coming around till nightfall."

Despite Ariel and Aeleus looking at her with curious expressions, the former's quickly changed to excitement as she took a step forward. "'Cave of Wonders'?" she echoed back, her eyes all but shining from the simple name of said location.

Sora giggled softly and gave a nod in response; "Yep...and it definitely lives up to its name." she stated with a wider grin.

"I don't think we should leave this city undefended." Aeleus suddenly spoke up as his gaze was focused on the dead end wall.

"Even if they usually come out at night, it's possible they could be spurred to show themselves earlier now that you're here with the Keyblade." he continued, slowly turning toward Sora once more.

Said girl looked at him silently, yet eventually gave a nod of her head. "Alright, but are you sure you'll be okay on your own? I know you're tough, but we don't really know who or what else could be out here." she said in a clearly worried tone.

"If I get into too much trouble, I'll signal you." the man said firmly, causing both teens to blink briefly.

"How?" Sora asked while tilting her head slightly to the side.

"With this." was all Aeleus said as he stepped up toward the teen and placed a hand to her shoulder.

After doing so, a soft glow emanated from this contact before fading away. Aeleus then removed his hand and gave the teen a nod; "If I need help, that will start to radiate a bright red color. But I don't think it will be necessary." he said in a highly confident manner.

The brown-haired girl smirked softly to this as she gave a nod in return; "Well...so long as you make sure to activate it, if or when you're in trouble." she hummed out before glancing to Ariel.

"Ready?" Sora asked softly, to which she offered a hand to the other teen.

Ariel herself gave a nod in response, yet briefly looked over to Aeleus as if silently asking if he was really going to be okay. Yet he just returned her stare with a stern one, leading for the red-haired girl to take Sora's hand into her own. "We'll be back soon." the teen in black said just before she and Ariel vanished.

Instantly afterwards, Aeleus glanced toward the wall directly ahead of him with a narrowed gaze. At which point, a shimmer of black energy was visible upon the surface. "Sorry, but you're too late...she's already gone." he muttered silently as a pair of large yellow eyes seemed to open on the wall's surface.

A swirl of darkness around these eyes began to form before giving way to a huge creature that lumbered forward. It coming out of the wall slowly, revealing the same huge bear-like Heartless Sora had encountered before. "Hmph...and here I figured you learned from the past mistake of making its appearance like 'this'." Aeleus uttered while bringing forth his weapon.

"Ah~, but you see..." a voice echoed out from the portal on the wall; "...that is where you are wrong, Lexaeus."

Seconds after these words, Vexen came walking through the corridor of darkness and stood right next to the creature. "Well...I suppose I should be calling you, 'Aeleus' now...huh?" he continued with a chuckle.

"And I suppose I should still be calling you 'Vexen' since you're-" Aeleus began, but was interrupted quickly by the other man.

"Yes yes...I'm what has been come to be known as; an 'Absent Silhouette'. And while I know I've been brain washed into returning back to the Organization, all I'm interested in...is finish this experiment." Vexen claimed as he looked to the bear, smirking widely while doing so.

Aeleus kept his gaze firmly on Vexen while he spoke, as if not trusting him to just stand there and not get involved in the upcoming fight. "And what exactly is this experiment supposed to be in the first place? Xemnas always said that it was important to his plan, but neither of you ever explained how or why." he questioned, obviously trying to learn more by keeping the platinum-blond man talking.

Whom had merely chuckled in response to this while crossing his arms; "I have no reason to tell you, so lets get this started so I can collect my data already."

Immediately upon these finished words, the large Heartless bear swung one of its paws toward Aeleus. Whom jumped backward and out of range of this attack, to which he then lifted his weapon straight up in the air and swung it onto the ground. This uplifting the earth in a series of spikes that extended out toward the man's foe. But the moment they were about to pierce into the Heartless, the spikes shattered upon contact. It's fur-covered skin likely being far stronger than any stone found within the earth.

Aeleus narrowed his eyes briefly as he stomped a foot down, causing a pillar of rock to be pulled up from the ground in front of him. The large man then swung his weapon into this structure with great force, sending it straight into the bear. Which lowered its head to take the attack, causing the stone to shatter and not even faze the creature. After seeing this, Aeleus moved into a more defensive position. Him clearly testing this Heartless' defense with these previous attacks, yet he now wished to test its offensive capability.

However, instead of instantly attacking, the bear moved to the side as if curious about the man. But it's eyes never left Aeleus' as it understood that this was a serious fight. Something that made the man's gaze narrow a bit more, him wondering exactly how much intelligence his opponent truly had. 'Before...it was just a wild animal. Vexen even needed to keep it chained up with powerful magic. But now, it seems to have some form of intellect and likely problem solving.' he thought to himself while turning slowly in order to keep the bear in front of him.

'I guess even as an Absent Silhouette, Vexen is still just as much of a genius as ever.' Aeleus continued, quickly and briefly shifting his gaze toward said man.

Though, he almost immediately regretted doing so as the bear had moved right up to him within that short moment. It swinging a huge paw down at the man, whom lifted his weapon up to block the strike. The resulting collision cracked the ground under Aeleus' feet, as well as forced him to one knee. The strain in his face was evidence enough of just how strong this creature was, as it pushed down more and more. It even using its own body weight to force Aeleus further into the earth, but the man stood his ground as he managed to lift his kneeling leg back onto his foot.

"And it seems to be many times stronger than before." he muttered silently to himself while lifting the bear's paw upward with only the strength of his arms.

"But..." Aeleus continued before using both legs to push up, allowing him to fully remove the Heartless' paw from his weapon.

The moment he was free, the large man moved at rather impressive speeds to move to the bear's side and swing an attack at its shorter hind legs. Upon contact however, the Heartless' body gave way only slightly before instantly going firm. This only caused the creature to slide forward half a meter before coming to a stop and turning toward its foe. Whom gazed at it in a bit of shock as he didn't expect his attack to be so ineffective, to which he jumped back and away from another swinging paw.

'Its durability it far greater than I gave it credit for. But it seems to be its best quality since the actual strength it used wasn't anything I couldn't handle. Though, knowing him...' Aeleus thought to himself quickly as he could see a grinning Vexen in the corner of his eye.

'...this Heartless is designed to ware out its opponents and defeat them after they've exhausted themselves. Which means I have only one of three options; charge through with overwhelming force, run away...or find its weak spot.' he continued, flipping his weapon into a reverse grip.

'And while I would normally pick the last option, after witnessing Sora's power...I have to be more willing to take chances and grow in strength as well. After all, being stagnant might as well be regression when everyone else around you is progressing.' the man stated firmly in his mind, a red aura quickly flaring around him.

"Therefore...I will grow and become stronger than I am now." he whispered to himself before charging forward with his axe.

The bear simply returned this action, yet it only needed two quick steps to reach its target. But due to its massive size, the momentum it had gained was equal to the amount Aeleus gathered from his own dozen steps. During of which his aura increased and became more wild, causing a strong gust of wind all around him as he moved. As the pair met in the center however, the man leapt up with his swinging axe, and the bear lowered its head for a headbutt.

Letting out a loud battle cry, Aeleus flipped his weapon around many times as to build up even more momentum. Him then swinging his hammer-like axe down with both hands, using as much force as he could muster. The flat edge colliding with the Heartless' head with a metallic thud, to which the nearby buildings cracks heavily on the sides facing the fighting pair. A great deal of red energy flaring outward as white sparks flew around Aeleus' form.

Said man straining heavily as he was pushing down with all of his might, but the bear didn't budge at all. Yet instead of giving up, he just kept trying harder, pumping in all the power he could into the attack. "It's pointless! I've designed it to withstand strikes from even the Supreme One himself! You cannot possibly hope to even put a scratch on my creation!" Vexen called out from the side in a proud manner.

"Not a scratch...huh?" Aeleus uttered out in a strained voice, to which he slowly took on a small smirk.

"We'll see." he continued before yelling another, yet louder battle cry.

At which point, he moved one of his hands away from his weapon's handle. This allowing the bear to easily push against him, but the man swiftly spun himself to the side. Him using his free hand to push off of the Heartless' head, just as it was moving past him. Though, the energy Aeleus gathered was still surrounding him in his red aura. Of which he focused fully into his hammer-like axe, to which he used the momentum of his spin to strike the side of the bear's head. Him using as much force as before, plus some.

Yet, while the bear's head was knocked to the side, Vexen just chuckled silently to himself. "Fool." he muttered just as the Heartless raised a giant paw and crashed it down onto Aeleus' body.

* * *

 **Le gasp, what will happen to Aeleus now? Will he be okay? Will he survive? What is to come of our favorite tough guy? Well...you'll find out soon, since I've already started writing the next chapter to be on the safe side. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed and will let me know what you thought. Until next time.**


	44. Agrabah part III

**Well, I'm glad I managed to finish this one so early since I won't have time to post this later on. So I hope all of you enjoy this somewhat earlier than normal chapter.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 43: Agrabah part III

Sora appeared together with Ariel in the middle of the desert, the sun beating down on them harshly as even the former teen was feeling a bit uncomfortable. But as they slowly looked around, the two saw a large mound of sand behind them. It having the shape of a tiger's head with its maw gaping open, all while having its tongue and throat taking the shape of stairs. These leading deep underground as a bright golden light seemed to shine from within the cave. Something of which brought back nostalgic memories to Sora as she gazed to the large head.

All the while, Ariel gazed to this in utter amazement and excitement. Her eyes sparkling while practically bouncing up and down; "This...is...awesome!" she squealed out happily, her taking on a wide grin as she rushed up to the tiger head.

Of which quickly snapped its jaws shut before starting to speak in its deep and growling-like voice. "Who approaches the Cave of Wonders?"

Ariel quickly took a step back as her eyes blinked multiple times, her then looking toward her friend from over her shoulder. Said brown-haired girl just smiled lightly as she moved up toward the mound of sand so its glowing yellow eyes could see her. "Hello again. It's been a while, huh? Am I still allowed to come in?" she asked with a wave of her hand before gesturing to its mouth.

As the tiger seemed to look at her, it slowly opened its maw as wide as it could go. It muttering; 'Yes you may' while doing so. This making Sora smile softly and nod to this; "Thank you~, I appreciate it~!" she hummed out, slowly walking inside the tiger's mouth.

Though, she soon turned around when noticing Ariel still standing there with a somewhat concerned gaze on her features. Sora then smiled and gestured for the red-haired teen to follow her inside; "It's alright, you'll be fine so long as you're with me." she said with a small smile.

Despite the other girl blinking briefly, she nodded and walked into the cave. The pair eventually arriving at the base of the stairs, revealing a much different environment compared to the last time Sora was here. Whom blinked many times while glancing around to the pink-tinted sand, as well as various mounds scattered along the path. Each of which varied between purple and blue in color, but the tell tale sparkling revealed that they were tall piles of gems. "Huh...looks like he redecorated." she muttered, looking back up the stairs to refer to the tiger head.

"I guess he figured that anyone with a weaker or greedy heart would be swayed enough to just take these and go." the teen commented while tapping her chin thoughtfully.

"Though this place still appears a bit barren, I kinda like it better than before." Sora continued as she glanced around the area once more.

"The coloring of everything definitely makes it look a lot more interesting to look at." she mused aloud, shrugging both shoulders as she did.

"What was it like the first time you came here?" Ariel asked silently, tilting her head to the side in question.

"It was just a bland sand color, plus there were a bunch of traps everywhere you went." Sora started, yet quickly groaned silently as if recalling how many times she fell for the traps that completely drenched her.

"Well...nevermind all that. Looks like we don't have to worry about that anyway." she finished with a clearing of her throat immediately afterwards.

Ariel blinked in confusion for a moment, as the other girl left out the fact that she activated so many traps during her story. Yet the two continued on their way and moved into a new area on the other side of this path. Of which was a simple tunnel with many stone statues on either side, while a much larger one rested at the very end. Though, this one seemed to be made of gold upon further inspection, as well as having a large red ruby clasped within its hands. Making Sora giggle lightly as she quickly imagined Donald wanting to take it with him.

'Well...I guess I could always try getting him a souvenir.' she thought to herself quickly before looking to Ariel beside her.

"Is this the same? Or different?" the red-haired girl asked, tilting her head curiously.

"Different, but..." Sora began, yet paused in her answer while looking around through the tunnel.

"...I also don't see a way forward." she continued with a hum, glancing around to the statues.

"It must be a puzzle." the teen added silently, to which Ariel blinked a few times.

"A puzzle? What sort of puzzle?" the other girl questioned, her obviously eager to solve a puzzle created by humans.

Sora looked to her briefly with a soft giggle, to which she began examining everything within the tunnel itself. While doing so, she began to realize that a few of the statues on the sides were off center with the others. Meanwhile, a few others were shifted slightly to the sides to make them face at an angle. "Hmm, maybe we have to get all of them the same distance apart and turned the same way?" Ariel suggested suddenly, her having seen all of the same things.

This lead for the brown-haired teen to nod in response as she tapped her chin. "That makes sense, but what distance...and which direction is the proper one?" Sora commented as she looked to each statue closely, obviously trying to figure out which ones might have been moved the most.

However, they all had an equal amount of movement scratches on the floor, causing the girl to sigh heavily. "Well...I guess we'll just have to try different combinations until we get it right." she continued as her friend nodded in response.

But the moment they started turning or sliding one statue, another on the other side would move in the opposite direction. Making both of them groan lightly as they knew this had gotten really complicated, really fast. Yet they soon went to work in trying to solve the puzzle, despite not knowing what was the proper way of doing it.

Upon finding a way to get all of them completely uniform, they let out a sigh of relief. Though the way they pointed on either side were in reverse directions, it still appeared proper in terms of symmetry. The pair then turned toward the statue at the end of the tunnel, which never changed the whole time. At which point, Sora made her way up to it and began examining it closely. "Hmm...I feel like this one should be the final piece of the puzzle." she hummed out silently.

Not long after these words, she noticed that there was a small indent on the statue's right eye. Her then pressing on it and felt her finger sink in as if it was some kind of button. "Oh~, clever." she muttered as a clicking sound was heard echoing through the small cavern.

Instantly following this, water suddenly began surging in from behind the statues. This quickly drawing the teens' attention, to which they then turned to the way they came in. Which was now blocked off by a large rock crashing down from above. Both girls coming to the same conclusion as the room began filling up with water. "Guess we got it wrong." they muttered in unison, looking around the room.

"Do we have time to solve it?" Ariel asked as she didn't seem to mind the water in the slightest.

All the while, the brown-haired girl was freezing the water as it came towards her feet. Sora making sure that it never got the chance to touch her, to which she then tapped the tip of her left boot against the ground two times. "We will now." was her answer before a surge of ice magic rippled out from her foot.

This immediately freezing all of the water coming into the room, as well as making a small pathway through the water already on the floor. Of which would have come up to either of the girls' shins as it remained parted enough for the pair to walk around. "Though...the water pressure might start building up soon, so we should still hurry." she added while going to the statues along with Ariel once more.

"Alright, I'm guessing they all have to face the same way...so we'll just have to keep turning them until they finally align with one another." Sora suggested, shrugging both shoulders.

Coupled with the threat of more water coming in, the teen just seemed to want to get this done as quickly as possible. This making Ariel blink a few times, yet she quickly recalled the girl always trying to stay dry during their fight against Demyx. Even when they were literally standing on the ocean floor, she still refused to get wet at any point. But while thinking about this, she suddenly looked down to the floor where the statues were resting.

Her seeing that the structures themselves were starting to drift a certain way thanks to the water remaining under them. Ariel tapped her chin briefly while thinking this over, yet slowly glanced to Sora as if wondering if the teen intentionally left the water under the statues or not. "Well...I think I know how to start." she commented before starting to turn one of the large figurines.

Despite taking many turns, it suddenly stopped with a loud clicking noise and showed both it, and its counterpart on the other side facing one another. "The water not only made it easier to turn, but also created a delay for the other statue. Meaning..." Ariel began in a silent tone.

"...you have a better chance at solving it with the water already in the room." Sora finished softly with a thoughtful gaze.

"You knew?" the red-haired girl asked, raising a brow in question.

"Not till I saw the water coming in." was the other teen's answer as she sighed and shrugged.

"I figured that there was a way to solve it without the water, but like most stories I've read about traps like these...if you fail the first time, there is still a way of solving it. You simply have to adapt to the trap itself." she continued, making a brief gesture to the manner in which she froze the water.

This made Ariel smirk lightly and nod her head in return, to which she turned to the other statues. "Well...I guess we found our solution." she hummed out with a soft chuckle.

Sora grinned to her for a moment before they both turned the other structures until they also clicked in a similar way as the first two. Upon doing so, the brown-haired girl pointed for her friend to go up and press the button. Though Ariel blinked, she gave a small smile as she went up and pressed in the same spot Sora had before. This causing another loud click before the gold statue slowly moved forward and then to the side.

Revealing the next area beyond, which appeared to be a gigantic chasm that only had a small square platform leading out from the entrance. "Huh..." Sora muttered in a confused manner, tilting her head to the side.

"I'm guessing that if we solved it with all the water still in the room, we would have been jettisoned out into this area with no way of stopping ourselves." Ariel explained, leading for the other girl to nod slowly in agreement.

"Makes sense, but that's basically the punishment for failing the puzzle in the first place. What about for those whom actually did it the first time?" the brown-haired teen said silently, moving onto the platform in front of them.

As she did, the girl glanced around carefully as if wondering what the 'trick' to this room might be. All the while, Ariel did the same as they both looked from one side of the chasm to the next. But as Sora approached each of the edges, she noticed that there was in fact another platform at the very bottom. It having a set of large, gold and red colored doors. These being built into the side of the cavern wall, which was strangely black with even stranger markings that appeared to glow a dark blue color.

"Whoa~..." both teens hummed out as they were equally impressed by all of this.

"So how do we get down from here?" Ariel questioned after a few moments of the two just staring in awe.

"Good question." Sora said silently as she looked over all the platform's edges from multiple angles.

"I'm thinking we just have to jump." she continued, shrugging her shoulders while turning back to her friend.

"Is that a good idea?" said red-haired girl asked with a slightly nervous demeanor.

"Probably not, but not to worry. With my magic, we'll land safely." Sora reassured, grinning softly afterwards.

Though Ariel nodded her head in response, she went to each of the edges as well, just in case there was anything they might have missed. "Guess it's worth a shot." she said eventually, her tone matching her previous expression.

The brown-haired girl simply smiled encouragingly before taking the other teen's hand and jumping together with her off the platform. Them dropping down through the chasm and only then realized the nearly invisible, winding stairway. It leading from the left side of the platform, all the way down to the doors at the very bottom. "Oops." Sora uttered out sheepishly.

Yet she quickly noticed Ariel huddling close to her with both eyes close, causing her to blink many times. Sora then started using her wind magic to slow their decent as they eventually landed just a few meters away from the doors. However, on the way down, the brown-haired girl pieced toward why the other teen was so hesitant to take such a route. 'She's either scared of heights...or scared of falling.' she thought to herself, but gave a soft smile as Ariel reopened her eyes.

"We reached the bottom." she claimed encouragingly, pretending not to have noticed the fact that the other teen was now literally being carried in her arms right now.

Ariel herself blinked to this before her friend set her feet on the floor, to which she immediately looked to the large doors ahead of them. "Guess that wasn't so bad after all." the red-haired girl said silently, clearing her throat beforehand as a flush developed on her cheeks.

"Yep." was all Sora hummed out as they both headed closer to the doors.

But they quickly began to open before the pair could reach them, leading for the pair to ready themselves for a possible fight. At which point, they saw Aladdin, Abu and Iago. The latter two being on the former's shoulders as he pulled the doors open with a strained groan. "So it really is true." the teen boy muttered to himself as he still hadn't noticed the other two in front of him yet.

"Like I told ya...he's-" Iago began, yet instantly stopped when he saw Sora and Ariel standing there.

"Huh?" Aladdin uttered, glancing from the bird to the pair of teens.

"Sora?!" he exclaimed in surprise, to which he immediately smiled and went in for a hug with the girl.

Whom returned this gesture as they both shared a brief embrace; "Hey Aladdin, long time no see." she greeted as a wide smile curled her lips.

"It really has been a long time, but I'm really glad you're here." he said, his tone slowly becoming more serious; "Agrabah is in big trouble."

* * *

 ***Aladdin has joined the party* And now it's on to bigger and better things. ;) I hope all of you enjoyed those traps. The first was to ward off any greedy hearts, the second was to ward off the weak willed, and the third was to ward off those whom didn't believe in the impossible. If you can get past all of those, you are a diamond in the rough. ^^ And yes...I made those up on the fly because I wanted some sort of challenge that didn't involve the Heartless or Nobodies. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter and will let me know what you thought. Until next time.**


	45. Agrabah part IV

**Whew, this was a bit of a rough one since I had so many things I wanted to do and that made it hard to keep the focus. But I hope I did it alright, let me know your opinion. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 44: Agrabah part IV

As Sora, Ariel and Aladdin walked through the large doors the latter had just come through, he also continued from his previous words to the two. "Everything was fine in Agrabah until about a week ago when a group of guys in black hoods showed up."

Upon hearing this, the brown-haired girl glanced to him with a narrowed gaze. However, she just let him keep going while looking around the room they entered. It having many tall mounds of gold everywhere she turned, so much so, that the red rug on the floor was barely visible under their feet. Yet they all still made a conscious effort to stepped across or over the streams of gold. The three eventually making their way to the other end of the room, which was over thirty meters away from the entrance it self.

Aladdin's story lasting even after reaching this dead end as his worried tone remained throughout. "They started wreaking havoc on Agrabah with all these weird creatures. Yet thanks to Genie, we managed to keep them at bay." the teen boy stated, him slowly tilting his head down as if in shame.

"But then...Genie suddenly vanished and the creatures began overrunning the city. I tried to fight them back, but I wasn't strong enough on my own and I was quickly driven out of Agrabah." he uttered out, obviously not liking this part of the story.

Sora looked to him for a moment before to the wall ahead of her with an examining gaze. Directly above a pedestal, which held what appeared to be a candelabra with different colored gems on the tips, was the Keyhole she was looking for. At which point, she summoned her Keyblade and locked it within just a few brief seconds. All the while, Aladdin looked to his friend as if waiting for her to finish before going on with his story. However, he didn't get the chance as the brown-haired teen turned to him and tilted her head to the side.

"So when did Jafar take over?" was all she asked as Aladdin, Ariel and even Iago blinked multiple times in question.

"Did you see him?" the former of the group asked quickly as he took a brief step toward Sora.

Whom simply nodded her head slowly in response; "I mean, he was disguised as Jasmine...but yeah." she claimed with a quick shrug of her shoulders.

"Eh? Seriously? Since when did you figure that out? And why didn't you tell Aeleus or I?" Ariel asked, blinking multiple times while looking to the brown-haired girl along with Aladdin.

Said boy even taking another step forward as he also wished to know this, to which Sora opened her mouth to answer. Yet she didn't get the chance as a red glow began emanating from her shoulder, causing each of them to look at this. The brown-haired girl's gaze narrowing quickly as she turned to the others; "I'll explain later." she said before immediately taking the other teens' hands into her own.

Instantly following this, the group vanished and reappeared at the dead end area in Agrabah. Immediately following this, Sora turned to the only way in and out. But her eyes narrowed once more when she saw Aeleus on the ground, him fending off the huge bear-like Heartless. Said creature pressing one of it's large paws down against the man, whom was using his weapon to keep it from crushing him. Though, despite his strength, the sheer weight of the creature was forcing his arms to bend slowly down.

But even within the first second of looking at this scene, Sora could see the large man's arms shaking from exertion. Her knowing that he was already going beyond his limits already, to which she held a hand out to summon her Keyblade. However, she paused for a moment when she recognized the Heartless itself; 'Isn't that the one from the time I helped rescue Penny?' she questioned quickly in her mind.

Before she could think further on this, her and everyone else's attention was grasped by Vexen off to the side. Him not seeming to notice the teens' arrival as he was facing directly toward Aeleus and the Heartless. "I think it's time to end this." the platinum-blond-haired man said to himself before pointing a finger toward the other man.

"You're free to kill him." Vexen continued with a confident tone as he knew Aeleus could not fight back for long.

Though, instantly following these words, Sora's eyes widened greatly. The last two words echoing in her mind over and over as if triggering something deep down. Yet within just a few seconds, something else inside her seemed to shatter. The light quickly fading from her eyes as they turned to look at the Heartless. 'What's..happening? Everything's going..dark.' she thought to herself as the girl's vision began to cloud before going completely black.

Upon its Master's orders, the large creature lifted its paw up and away from Aeleus before swinging it back down with great force. All the while, Aladdin and Ariel had started rushing forward to try and stop the Heartless' attack. As the two teen's ran toward it though, Vexen finally took notice their presence and smirked. But this had quickly faded, as in it's place, an expression of shock and disbelief rose up. This coming from seeing Sora's form, yet before he could examine it, the girl simply vanished.

However, she immediately flashed into existence right next to the bear's head as she punched it in its skull. The amount of force behind this punch being so great that the buildings within a twenty meter radius completely shattered apart into rubble in an almost instantaneous manner. Half of an entire district had simply vanished in half a second as the actual dead end was now gone. The only indication that there had been something there before were the differently colored stones scattered around the area.

Even outside this range, any citizens within forty meters had still been knocked over by the shock wave. Thankfully, because of Aeleus' fight until now, the closest citizen was more than thirty meters away from the impact. As for the group still in the immediate vicinity, they were quickly pushed down from the force and almost knocked out right then. This almost happening to Iago and Abu as they simply went flying through the air. The former making sure to save the latter before they both reached the ground.

Though the humans had still remained conscious from this, they barely managed to watch the Heartless being thrown onto its side from the blow. What was shocking however, was the area it landed had been twelve meters away from where it originally stood. Which was where Sora herself had landed back onto the sand, but she was now on all fours. The girl even crouching down close to the ground with her limbs bent almost as far as possible.

Sora's body, clothes and hair now had a thick layer of darkness coating them. This making her facial features almost invisible as her black locks waved around wildly, giving an almost mane-like appearance. It occasionally waving over her large, glowing yellow eyes that lacked any form of intelligence. But as she settled on the ground, the others started noticing wisps of dark energy that radiated off and around her body. These almost appearing to create a protective barrier around the girl as they actually lashed out at the air itself.

After seeing Sora's different appearance, everyone's eyes widened in shock and confusion. However, Vexen just took on a wide grin as his expression quickly turned to excitement. "This is it! This is exactly what I've been looking for!" he claimed in actual glee.

"She's finally awakened the true darkness within her! Now I can observe the raw power of the Dark Keyblade's chosen one!" the man called out, gesturing toward the girl with a hand.

But the moment said teen heard his voice, her head snapped in his direction as her blank yellow eyes gazed at the man. Vexen stared back in curiosity, yet they quickly widened when Sora was just gone. In the same moment, she was right at his side in the middle of the air. Him never even realizing it until he was hit with a back fist across the face. This sent him through the air violently, however, he was very suddenly jabbed in the stomach after only ten meters.

The black-haired girl having just appeared over him before practically planting the man into the ground. Despite not appearing to use much strength, the force was still enough to embed Vexen two meters into the sand. Sora then landed on all fours beside him, her looking as if she might continue this assault. Though, she once again snapped her head to the side as the Heartless began getting back up. Her instantly disappearing once more and came right up to the bear in the same moment.

Sora slamming a strangely clawed fist into the creature's body with great speed and force, of which was enough to briefly lift the creature off the earth. This causing the teen to pause for a moment before throwing even more punches into its body. Each one being stronger than the last as the Heartless was actually being slowly lifted into the air. While it attempted to fight back, Sora had started angling its trajectory so that its back was facing her. It completely eliminating its means of countering, allowing the girl to bring it to the maximum height she could over her head.

Once she had, Sora crouched back down for the briefest of moments. And the moment the bear's body was about to drop, the teen jumped up and delivered a powerful kick into the middle of its back. Following this impact, the sand in a ten meter radius under Sora had bowed downward and became a thin layer of glass. Which almost instantly shattered back into sand-sized pieces a split second later. The force had also knocked everyone right back down as they were only now able to get back up from the last attack.

Though, they still got a perfect view of seeing the Heartless soar through the air and over the walls surrounding Agrabah. Each of them gazed in shock, particularly Aeleus and Vexen as only they knew just how much force it must have taken to accomplish such a feat. But as Sora returned to the ground on all fours, she turned her attention back to the latter of these two. Said man slowly standing to his feet, to which he began trying to move back and away from the girl. Him still being in a lot of pain from the previous attacks, yet his adrenaline was pumping quite fast.

"This is beyond what I expected, but it's also so much better than I could have hoped for." he muttered out in a mixture of nervousness and intrigue, his eyes never leaving the teen.

"Now I need to make sure this data will go to good us-" the man continued, but immediately stopped when seeing Sora suddenly right in front of him.

Despite the fact that he had his full focus on her, the black-haired girl still appeared in front of him before his brain even processed the fact that she moved. Something of which made him very slowly reach into his coat pocket. Vexen nervously looked into the teen's fully yellow eyes, them making him feel like prey being faced by the ultimate predator. "I hope you get this form of yours under control soon. Otherwise, you'll be a useless asset to both your side...as well as the Supreme One's." he whispered silently, cautiously removing his hand after seeming to grab something.

Just as he pulled out a small device, Sora lifted a hand out toward Vexen. Whom flinched upon her movement, yet gazed at the girl in confusion as he never could have guessed what would happen next. Nor did anyone else as their eyes went wide in shock and a bit of horror. A beam-like blade of darkness shot from Sora's four fingers in less than a blink of an eye and pierced through Vexen's chest. However, it didn't stop there, it piercing through everything in its path for over a kilometer.

But as quickly as appeared, the attack vanished and allowed the man's body to fall limply to the ground. His form already starting to disappear before collapsing, the damage Sora's single attack caused was far too much for his body to take. Especially now as an Absent Silhouette, he was even more vulnerable to disappear than as a Nobody.

"R-Remarkable..." he whispered silently to himself as everyone else finally snapped out of their surprise and began rushing over.

"Tch...I hope my real self appreciates this data." Vexen continued in a somewhat frustrated tone before pressing a button on the device he was still holding.

It then disappearing in a flash of teleportation magic, leading for the platinum-blond-haired man to look back to Sora. Whom separated her fingers and flexed them to form long claws of darkness, which she swung down as to unnecessarily finish Vexen off. "SORA DON'T!" Ariel, Aladdin and Aeleus called out to the girl.

This causing said teen to halt her actions mere centimeters from the man's face, to which she snapped her attention turned toward the approaching three. Though, the latter of the trio was a bit slower due to being battered and exhausted before the others even arrived. Yet they were all very cautious when coming up toward Sora, her eyes still not showing signs of intelligence. All the while, Vexen chuckled silently as he slowly closed both eyes. "Hmph, for someone whom controls so much darkness...you sure have a lot of light surrounding you." he whispered just before his body fully vanished.

Once he had, the black-haired girl's eyes focused solely on the group slowly approaching. But as she shifted her gaze from one to the other, her darkness started to lessen and the glow in both eyes began to fade. "Sora...is that still you?" Ariel questioned silently, her hand unconsciously moving toward the other girl as if she was a wild animal.

"You're still you, right?" Aladdin joined in as he made sure each of them stayed just out of reach.

Though he knew it wouldn't do any good after what they saw, he still felt as though caution was the best option. Something of which Aeleus agreed with as he kept his weapon at his side, in case the worst should happen. As Sora continued looked at them though, her normal vision started to return. "A...Ari...Ariel..." she strained out as the darkness flowing around her body finally vanished.

However, her skin, clothes and hair were all still pitch black. "A..Ala...Aladdin..." Sora continued while a soft crack was heard.

"Yeah...it's us." the raven-haired boy said quickly as he pointed between Ariel and himself.

"We're here." the other girl added with a hopeful smile.

After this, an even louder crack was heard before Sora turned to the last of the three. Immediately following this, the darkness covering her shattered away and revealed the brown-haired teen's normal appearance. "Aeleus...you're alive." she whispered, her tone sounding rather desperate as she even went to the man and hugged him.

This caused each of the three to blink many times, as well as Iago and Abu off to the side as they had begun to get a little closer. "Sora...what happened?" Aeleus asked silently, his tone sounding a bit softer than usual.

Sora looked to him for a moment before down in thought; "I...I don't know. When I heard Vexen say..." she started, yet trailed off as the light in her eyes briefly faded once more.

"W-Well...when he said to 'get rid of you', something inside me just sort of snapped." the teen continued, to which the large man's eyes narrowed slightly while thinking this over.

But this was interrupted as some yelling was heard by the city's gates, causing each of them to turn their attention toward these sounds. "We'll talk more later. We still need to deal with that Heartless." Aeleus said, gesturing in the direction the screams.

Despite everyone still wanting to pause for a moment to think about what just happened, they knew it would have to wait for now. The group then made their way to the gates, weapons at the ready while Iago and Abu struggled to keep up. 'Lets just hope she's never by herself if such a thing happens again.' the large man thought to himself, his narrowed gaze focused on Sora leading the way.

* * *

 **Well...Vexen's Absent Silhouette died pretty quick, but then...his influence isn't over just yet. ;) Though, I finally introduced Sora's true Anti-Form, so I that was a good plus. But anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter and will let me know what you thought. Until next time.**


	46. Agrabah part V

**Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 45: Agrabah part V

The group quickly arrived at the open gates of the city, where they saw several of the guards slashing and stabbing at the large Heartless. It however, seemed to be ignoring them, almost as if it didn't even notice their existence. Though it was likely from the fact that their weapons were completely ineffective against it, there was no clear indication this was indeed the case. Upon seeing the creature just standing there, both Sora and Aeleus raise a brow in question. Them knowing that this Heartless was very abnormal if it wasn't actually attacking anyone. It barely moving at all, as it only shifted it's head from side to side every few seconds.

"Is it looking for someone to tell it what to do?" Ariel asked silently while they each gazed at the large bear.

"It definitely looks like it is." Aladdin added, him briefly looking down to his blade as if wondering whether or not they would even need to fight this Heartless.

Despite them coming closer and into view of the beast, it still continued to stand there ignoring everything around it. At which point, Sora stepped up directly in front of the Heartless and cleared her throat. "Hey~!" she called out, cupping both hands around her mouth to make this announcement travel further.

After hearing this, the creature finally turned its attention toward the teen. Which allowed her to see that, despite being a bit dirty from the sand, the creature was completely uninjured. "Quite the durable one, aren't ya?" Sora hummed with a small smirk.

Yet she quickly gestured for the Heartless to lean its head down, to which it actually followed her unspoken request. "If you're looking for someone to adopt you, I'll take you in." she continued, pointing to herself with a hand.

As the bear gazed at the girl for a few moments, it suddenly seemed to start decreasing in size. This caused the guards to finally stop attacking and hold their stance in preparation for what might happen next. Once it shrunk down to the size of a year old cub, Sora blinked many times and grinned widely. "AW~! It's so cute~!" she almost squealed out while picking the creature up into her arms and hugging it.

While doing so, the guards appeared very on edge as they approached the pair. But thanks to Aeleus, Ariel and Aladdin coming up near of her, they each paused. However, after Razoul noticed the latter of the group, his eyes narrowed heavily. Him obviously wanting to fulfill the order he was given to bring back the 'street rat', dead or alive. Yet he remained with the rest of the guards, likely believing that Sora was already bringing the boy to the palace.

"Hmm, you need a name." the brown-haired teen stated, to which she glanced around to the others around her.

Despite Ariel appearing at ease with this shrunken version of the bear, Aeleus was still highly tense. The man not wishing to be caught off guard with a creature such as this, but since Sora was the one holding it, he put his trust in her abilities for now. Meanwhile, Aladdin was somewhere in-between the other two since while he did appear to relax, his stance always remained at least slightly defensive. Though, the fact that there were many guards nearby, likely added to this as well.

"I got it!" Sora continued, barely noticing all of the unease around her; "How about; 'Ursa'? It means 'Bear' in Latin...I think."

Though she tilted her head up in thought after these words, she just smiled a bit wider when looking back to the Heartless. Which simply gazed at her blankly as it didn't seem to understand many things about the teen and her words. "I believe it only knows commands." Aeleus spoke up as he turned his attention to Sora for a moment.

"From what I remember of the experiment itself, this Heartless was designed to become the first line of defense for the castle. But it seems Xemnas wished for more from it after realizing the potential it held. After that, only Xemnas and Vexen ever knew what was going on with any further experiments on it." he continued silently, him only saying this directly to the brown-haired teen since the others had no idea what they were talking about.

"The last I heard, Vexen had it sealed away in a cave. He did make mention that the world itself held some sort of powerful energy that fueled its evolution. But he never explained further, only that it would help the Organization in the long run." the man finished with a silent sigh, to which the girl gave a slow nod.

"Well...that's even more reason to take Ursa with us." Sora claimed, grinning widely the whole time as she looked to the bear once more.

"Besides...I think that this little guy has a lot more than just what Xemnas and Vexen had planned." she spoke in a soft tone and smile.

Aeleus raised a brow in question as he gazed back down to the Heartless in a somewhat suspicious manner. "How so?"

Immediately following this inquiry, Sora just smiled a bit wider and closed both eyes. "I can just sense it, there's something...more." she more or less whispered, making everyone around her just blink a few times.

All of them now being interested in hearing more, even the guards just to the side of the group. However, the girl then reopened her eyes and took on a grin once more. "Anyway...we should probably finish things up here so we can have our talk." she stated before glancing over to the guards.

Afterwards, she slowly took on a small grin and turned her gaze over to Aeleus. She then made a quickly gesture with her head to urge him to lean down closer to her. Though the man raised a brow once more, he simply did as she wished so that the teen could whisper in his ear. Not long after finishing her words to him, Aeleus gave a nod in response and moved toward Aladdin. Whom blinked a few times in question as to what they were planning, yet Sora just smirked with a wink. "Just play along." she spoke in a silent manner, almost mutely so as barely anyone could hear her.

The raven-haired teen slowly gave a nod before Aeleus suddenly pulled both hands behind his back. The larger man then clasping his wrists with a single hand as it was all he needed to restrain Aladdin. Upon seeing this, Sora moved toward the guards and smirked lightly. "Well, we found Aladdin and brought him with us. Would you be so kind as to escort us back to the palace, so we might take him to the Princess directly?" she questioned in a rather demanding way.

Her tone showing that she wasn't going to back down on this and let the guards take the boy away. This being very clear to Razoul as he cleared his throat and nodded slowly; "O-Of course." he said, giving a quick glance to the bear in the girl's arms.

Though, the captain soon started leading them back into Agrabah and to the palace once more. Aeleus making sure to keep Aladdin appearing to be in custody while going forward, which had gotten a few stares from the people in the streets. While some were thankful, others appeared very upset as if some sort of great injustice was being done. But the group continued on their way until they arrived at the palace, where of which they saw the Sultan standing there waiting. Once he came into view, Razoul gave a quick bow and allowed Sora to give Aeleus a nod. Leading for the man to release Aladdin so the raven-haired teen could walk into the court yard normally.

"Ah~, I heard that you were returning. And with Aladdin no less." he commented in a rather jovial tone, nodding thankfully toward Sora.

"I'm so pleased to see that you have helped Agrabah once again. While I didn't get to meet you the first time, I wish you offer you my thanks and congratulations." the short man continued with a small smile on his old features.

Sora just smiled in response while waving a hand; "It was no trouble at all. Though...where is Jasmine? I was hoping to see her again before we left." she said, giving a smile of her own.

However, the teen's seemed almost mischievous as she gazed at the Sultan silently. Said man cleared his throat as he looked to the side; "Well, I'll go and get her so that you can say your 'good byes'." he claimed, quickly going inside the palace itself while everyone else stayed outside in the court yard.

After just a few moments, Jasmine came walking out with a small smile. "Sora...I'm so happy that you helped us out again, and so quickly. You really are amazing." the girl claimed happily while looking to Aladdin.

"And I'm glad you're here too, I've been eager to see you again." she continued as her smile slowly widened.

"Well, we were happy to help." Sora said grinning, to which she turned as if to leave.

"Oh right, could I talk to your father again really quick? There's something I need to talk with him about." she questioned in an almost overly innocent tone.

Though Jasmine's eye brow noticeably twitched briefly, she just smiled lightly and nodded. "O-Of course." she uttered before going back inside.

After she had, the others looked to Sora in a slightly questioning manner, yet the teen just grinned with a wink. Not long afterward, the Sultan came back out with a somewhat forced smile. "My daughter mentioned you had something you wished to share with me?" he asked, briefly clearing his throat again.

"Yeah, there was a bit of an accident in town were a bunch of buildings got destroyed. I'd be more than happy to help rebuild if you'd like." Sora responded, acting rather sheepishly.

"N-No...that's quite alright, we'll handle things." the Sultan said quickly, even his tone beginning to sound a bit forced now.

"Well, I apologize none the less." the brown-haired teen uttered as another small, yet mischievous smile curled her lips.

"Oh...I didn't actually get to say my 'good byes', could you ask Jasmine to come back out one more time?" she continued, causing the Sultan to grind his teeth in clear frustration.

"THAT'S IT!" he called out before his form quickly transformed and became that of Jafar in his human form.

"I've had enough of these games! I was going to just let you leave since I didn't want to risk fighting you, but it's clear that you somehow realized that I was back." the tall man claimed, his voice still showing his annoyance.

However, Sora just gasped and placed a hand to her cheek, all while keeping the other wrapped around the bear. "Jafar! I should have known you would pull this sort of trick!" she stated, pointing toward him accusingly.

This causing the man to just look at her in a mixture of confusion and irritation, yet the teen simply continued on in a more heroic-like voice. "You're very sneaky to have gotten this far, but it was foolish to reveal yourself so confidently! We'll make sure to defeat you and bring order back to Agrabah!"

Upon hearing this, Ariel had to hold back her laughter as this whole scene was getting more amusing than it was tense. Of which made Jafar all the more angry as he brought his snake-shaped staff up, the eyes glowing a bright red while he did. But the moment he was about to cast a spell, he suddenly felt himself get pushed to the ground. His gaze looking to the Graviga spell that had been cast over him, making him growl out in anger.

"Curse you...you've been setting this up since you arrived here." he muttered silently, him unable to focus enough to change form or even cast his own magic.

"Blasted...street..rats!" Jafar continued as his body was pressed down against the ground with so much force, the sand was starting to part away.

"Since when could you beat him so easily Sora?" Aladdin asked in a shocked voice, his expression matching this tone.

"Since very recently. I mean, I really didn't want to get into a contest of magic against a genie." Sora responded with a shrug of her shoulders.

"His powers are basically limitless and we kinda lucked out with my power the last time. So I decided to come prepared and make sure we would be able to take him by surprise." she continued, yet her focus remained fully on Jafar as she knew he had to be contained, or a lot of bad things would happen.

Yet her efforts were quickly ruined when a burst of darkness hit the teen in the back. Causing her to both lose her focus on the spell, but also stumble forward. Though, as her gaze shifted toward the one whom attacked, her eyes widened a great deal when seeing Marluxia standing there with a hand out. Him having a small smirk on his features before quickly vanishing once he had her attention. But the moment she saw him, everything instantly fell into place. Marluxia was the one whom found and released Jafar, as well as brought the Nobodies to this world.

And now he had released Jafar for a second time as the man's body instantly exploded with a red mist. Which swiftly gathered into one area as his genie form towered over the group with a wide grin. "You were saying?" he asked in a rather cocky manner.

Despite the sudden change in events and even the brief arrival of Marluxia, Sora took in and let out a slow breath. "I was saying...I would take you by surprise." she stated as her body began to glow a deep blue.

* * *

 **Well, the sudden twist at the end wasn't too big of a twist, but now we've gotten a brief glimpse into what Marluxia has been up to since reforming. ;) I will also say this...I have no idea what Marluxia's real name could be, so for now...I'm just going to keep calling him 'Marluxia'. And hey, the bear is friendly...or so Sora thinks. We'll find out sooner or later. But anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter and will let me know what you thought. Until next time everyone.**


	47. Agrabah part VI

**Sorry for the late upload, things just kept getting in the way. But I stayed up till four in the morning to finish this, so I hope all of you enjoy it.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 46: Agrabah part VI

"Alright you guys..." Sora started as her blue aura continued to spread across her body until it shimmered into the teen's Wisdom form.

However, this one appeared a bit more complete than the previous time, as if the number of people by her side somehow increased its power. The girl then slowly reaching out to both Aeleus and Aladdin as the former felt a surge of power rush through him. Him noticing his previous wounds and bruises fade away at the same time, to which he blinked briefly. At the same time, the latter blinked at his sword as it gained a strong red glow before slowly fading back to its normal color.

"...stay back and wait for my signal to strike. We'll deal with this guy with a few swift blows." the brown-haired girl continued with a confident wink and grin toward each of her friends.

This making them nod each of their heads in response, to which Sora began to float into the air. It starting off slow as she glanced from her opponent to the ground just below him, to which she smirked lightly. During her accent, the teen shot a small beam of light from a finger onto this spot in the sand. Instantly following her action, the girl's speed upward rapidly increased. Which suddenly stopped once Sora reached eye-level with Jafar, whom simply gazed at her with a highly unimpressed look.

"And here I thought you said you would surprise me again. All you did was change the color of your clothes and get a flashy aura, what can you possibly do against my infinite power?!" he more or less declared in a booming voice.

All the while, the genie held out both hands and created a massive swirl of red-colored clouds in the sky. Lightning crackled within them as loud rumblings of thunder vibrated the very air across Agrabah. Even the city itself was also beginning to shake violently, but it was for a different reason as buildings started to rip from the ground and fly up to Jafar's hands. At which point, they started circling around his limbs in a slow, yet still very powerful manner. This making him just grin widely, it being abundantly clear that he was attempting to demonstrate his superior power.

But Sora just grinned back with a shrug of her shoulders; "Well if you must know... in order to combat such a strong force like yourself...you must have one of two things." she started while raising two fingers up.

Though, rather than waiting for her to continue, Jafar just threw one of the buildings at her. Yet the teen merely floated to the side and out of the way; "The first is a strategic plan. Which usually has some form of exploitation of your foe's weakness. In your case, a genie's lamp is the biggest weak point and is the best way to defeat an 'all powerful genie'." Sora claimed, having a rather sarcastic tone at the very end.

Letting out a growl of aggravation to this obvious disrespect, Jafar threw three more buildings toward the brown-haired girl. Each one being from different directions, but all of them were equally as fast. Which created a loud crash that echoed through the air once they collided against one another. Their target however, had kicked off each building as they came near. Sora spinning and flipping her way across these structures, allowing the girl to return to her original spot. Despite some of the debris coming toward the teen, it broke apart almost instantly when nearing the aura surrounding her.

"And since Marluxia is still around, I'm guessing that he didn't choose to set you free as one of his wishes. Plus, since you didn't want to fight us, it's safe to assume that your lamp is still somewhere we could potentially find it." Sora said, sending a brief glance down toward Abu and Iago as they were hiding outside of the courtyard.

Immediately after these words, the pair actually seemed to understand what she was hinting at and rushed inside the palace itself. Jafar not noticing this due to throwing even more buildings at the teen, each one now being ablaze with fire. The genie learning from his previous attacks as he knew she couldn't keep avoiding him for long. Yet Sora had simply vanished before the fiery buildings collided in a large explosion. It being almost deafening as it was enough to drown out the thunder percussing down from the sky.

"Slippery little street rat!" Jafar growled out while several more buildings were lifted up from the earth.

Though, these had started circling around the genie as if to also used them for defense. Him not even noticing the brown-haired girl on his right shoulders until she spoke up with a small grin on her features. "And two..."

Instantly following the start of this, Jafar swiftly brought a hand up and slapped down on where the girl had just been. But Sora herself was now on his other shoulder, her grin widening slightly as she continued. "...an overwhelming power."

The very moment her voice was heard, the genie ground his teeth together before a large pillar of fire shot out from where she stood. However, this also didn't hit its target as Sora was now back in her original spot in the air. "Which would then need to have an overall greater base strength than anything your foe can produce in a single go." she finally finished, shrugging her shoulders and giving a small smirk at Jafar.

Whom gazed to her with a raised brow before starting to laugh in response; "And what? Are you going to tell me you can beat me in raw attack power?" he questioned in an amused tone.

Upon hearing this, Sora slowly smirked a bit wider and nodded in understanding. 'He doesn't even count the possibility of us finding his lamp. Which means he might have hid it beforehand and feels it's safe to some degree. Yet not enough to allow us to stay in this world.' she thought quickly to herself before sighing softly.

"Well, from what both Merlin and Yen Sid have told me...the growth potential for Keyblade wielders is nearly limitless. Meaning if anyone can beat a genie through that method, it might be me...or Riku...or Kairi...or Roxas...or Xion...or Teng...or..." Sora claimed with an almost teasing tone, yet she quickly paused at the end.

The teen tilting her head up in thought as she wonders whom else she was about to name. Her feeling as if there was someone else she wanted to list, but couldn't seem to remember whom it was. Yet she left that question for later, as a gigantic blast of air magic was blown from Jafar's hands. It looking like a tornado was being hurled right at her, but Sora just remained perfectly still as to be in the center of the gale. While the eye of the tornado was actually rather calm, it was also somewhat hard to breath. This being due to the fact that all the air was being pulled away from middle and left very little for the girl to inhale.

"You might have the potential, but as you are now...you stand no chance of defeating me!" Jafar yelled out, him still somehow being heard through the roaring winds surrounding Sora.

"Oh, but I do." the brown-haired teen hummed out before holding a hand out.

From it, an opposite swirling tornado burst forward and caused both gales to cancel one another out. Though Jafar raised a brow in question to this, he still just grinned confidently and even crossed his arms. "HA! What could you possibly have that could compare to my power?!" he laughed out as the buildings around him lifted up slightly as if ready to fly at the girl.

"I am unstoppable!" he continued before instantly throwing these structures.

"Oh really? Even against the power of a God?" Sora questioned, a small grin curling her lips as a brief spark of blue flames ignited from between her fingers.

Immediately following this, the buildings were instantly incinerated and a massive amount of blue fire blazed around the teen. Whom now had blue hair as it waved around her in a flame-like manner, to which she held out a hand toward Jafar once more. Said genie having a shocked expression as he actually flinched slightly when realizing whose flames these belonged to. "I-Impossible!"

Sora grinned even wider when seeing this as the flames around her increased greatly. "What can I say? A little friendship goes a long way." was all she said before a huge blast of fire blazed toward Jafar, as if an entire volcano erupted from her hand.

The genie himself brought his hands out once more, creating a huge cascade of ice in order to counter the girl's attack. But it melted away within seconds as the flames engulfed Jafar, causing him to call out in pain. While continuing to send this inferno toward her foe, Sora glanced down to her friends as they were all positioned around the genie. Each one giving her a gaze that showed they were waiting for her signal to attack.

"Lets finish this!" Sora called out before the fire just stopped and she vanished.

A brief second later, the girl reappeared directly above a burn-stricken Jafar as he had his arms up in a defensive pose. Yet as she hovered in the air for a moment, the blue flames disbursed and her hair returned to normal. Following this, Sora summoned her Keyblade and simply began falling toward the genie. Whom was slowly healing from these burns, to which he tilted his head up toward the teen in anger. Though, just when he saw her, a large torrent of water slammed into his stomach caused him to double over slightly.

This allowing both Aladdin and Aeleus to leap up from behind, to which they slammed their weapons into the back of Jafar's head one after another. The former of the pair producing a burst of fire from his sword, it being the enchantment Sora provided the boy. Making his attack deal a significant burn upon his opponent, yet it likely wasn't much in comparison to the previous burns he received. But while the genie growled out from this, his head was jerked forward from the latter's attack. Aeleus' strength having returned quite a bit thanks to Sora's spell, yet he still wasn't at one-hundred percent.

When Jafar's head snapped down, he then saw Ariel had placed herself directly under him and pointed her trident upward. From the tip, another huge swirl of water blasted against Jafar's large form as he was now pushed a bit higher into the air. Though, this didn't last long as Sora finally hit him in the back with her Keyblade. But while this basically felt like a mere poke to him, the teen whispered out; "Thundaja." before a sudden shock surged through him.

This caused Jafar to spasm slightly as despite trying to use magic in order to escape this, he couldn't focus enough to do it. "Of course, if you use both a strategic plan and an overwhelming amount of power...then victory is all but guaranteed." the brown-haired teen claimed with a wink, to which an extra flash of light shined from her Keyblade.

At the same time, the light she shot into the ground began to glow as well. This instantly pulling the genie straight into the sand just as Ariel stepped casually out of the way. During this fall, as well as after it, the electricity continued shocking Jafar as if to make sure he couldn't move. Despite Jafar trying to lift his arms up in order to lift his body, both limbs started feeling numb. "I..will not be defeated by a bunch of street rats like you!" he yelled in anger, his large body still twitching from the spell flowing through him.

But despite this, and the dual Magnet spells on the ground and his back, the genie was still managing to push himself up. Which made Sora blink a few times with an impressed gaze, to which she lifted her free hand up and started gathering more magical energy. However, she never got the chance to use it as Jafar suddenly flopped back onto the ground and began shrinking in size. "W-What's..happening?" he demanded in shock as he slowly returned to a human form.

While watching this, the group blinked many times as they were just as confused as the man himself. Sora still standing atop Jafar's back, whom she was likely crushing to some degree due to the man's frail physique. But each of them soon turned toward the doors of the palace as Abu and Iago came through them. The latter holding Jafar's lamp in his wings as he had a large and satisfied grin on his features. "We couldn't find his lamp...at first anyway." the bird began with a shrug of his feathered shoulders.

"But after we found him, getting the lamp was a cinch." Iago continued with a gesture to Sora's side.

After turning to see where he was looking, the brown-haired teen began to grin widely when seeing the Genie. Whom was grinning just as much as the girl, to which he quickly lifted her up into the air with a large hug. "It's been such a long time~!" the blue-skinned genie called out.

"Four hundred and twelve days, three hours, sixteen minutes and...two seconds, to be exact." another Genie claimed to the side, him wearing a suit and fedora while holding a fob watch in one hand.

"Far too long to see a friend~!" the first Genie continued as he hugged Sora tighter.

Said teen just giggled while returning this hug, to which she then glanced to Ariel as she seemed to be the only one confused by what just happened. Along with this, she was also giving this new genie a somewhat curious and cautious gaze. Jafar being the first genie she ever saw, so seeing yet another one so radically different made her quite bewildered. This lead for Genie to give Sora a nod while setting her down and releasing their hug.

"Well, for starters..." the girl began as she turned toward the other teen.

"...genies have the power to grant wishes of the one whom summons them from their lamp. So when Iago got ahold of Jafar's lamp, I'm guessing he wished for Jafar himself to return back to being human." she explained, briefly glancing over to the bird as if asking if she got this correct.

Of which she received a nod in response to, allowing the girl to then carry on. "So having to listen to this wish, the lamp basically forced Jafar to grant it. So now he's back to normal and we no longer have to worry about his 'unlimited power'."

Upon hearing this explanation, Ariel nodded her head as she shifted her gaze from Jafar, to Genie. Leading for Sora to smile softly as she waved a hand nonchalantly; "This is Genie I told you about, the one that helped me out during my previous journey here." she said with a small smile on her features.

The red-haired girl nodded once again in response as this explained everything she was concerned about. However, when turning back toward Jafar, she blinked in shock as the man was gone. This drawing the attention of everyone as they each looked around quickly, but found no trace of the man. "What the..." Sora uttered out in shock as she moved to the spot where her spell should have been holding Jafar in place.

Yet, there wasn't any sign of her spell, nor of the man's own magic. "But how?" she whispered to herself while hovering a hand over the area.

When doing so, Sora's gaze narrowed slowly before blinking a few times. "Well crap." the girl muttered silently with a huff, as if slightly disappointed in herself.

The teen then turned to the others and waved a hand; "Don't worry, he's no longer here. But you should make sure to keep a look out for if and when he comes back." she suggested as half of the group blinked a few times in confusion.

However, Aeleus and Genie knew she had likely figured out whom had taken the man from their custody. "Anyway...we should probably get Jasmine and her father back. Then we can give our actual greeting and farewell." Sora continued, glancing to the latter of these two.

Whom just chuckled with a smirk on his features; "Sure can do~!" he called out, rolling up sleeves that shouldn't have even been there.

Meanwhile, Jafar breathed heavily while sitting in a dark area of a large castle. "Tch! Why did you even bother coming? My powers were taken away." he growled out in frustration.

"Because I still have a use for you." Maleficent stated to the man's side, her gaze slowly narrowing on him as a wicked smirk curled her lips.

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 **And there you have it, Jafar is no longer a genie...Sora's drive forms are dependent on the number and proximity of people she has around her...and now Aladdin has an enchanted sword. ;) Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed and will let me know what you thought of this chapter. Until next time.**


	48. Disney Castle part I

**Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 47: Disney Castle part I

"Are you sure there is nothing we can do or give as thanks for helping us?" the Sultan questioned with a small smile on his elderly features.

"Not only for today, but for what you did over a year ago as well." Jasmine said softly as she, her father, Aladdin and Genie were each facing the three off-worlders.

"Nah, we're just glad to help out. So don't worry about needing to give anything back in return." Sora responded, waving a hand in a dismissive manner.

"Well, we appreciate your help all the same." Aladdin claimed, a small smile curling his lips.

"All of your help." he added while glancing toward Ariel and Aeleus standing on either side of the brown-haired girl.

"It was no problem at all, we were happy to be of help to you and this world." former of these two stated as she smiled in a proud manner.

The latter of the pair simply glanced to the side with a sigh, him still not quite used to being thanked. Nor was he used to his new alignment on the side of 'good', making him almost feel rather awkward. Aeleus having done some terrible things in this world before, so saving it already felt slightly strange for him. But he merely accepted all this while the group made their farewells, filled with plenty of hugs for Sora and even a gift from Genie. This being a miniature version of his old lamp, which the teen blinked at a few times as the blue-skinned genie explained the reason for his present.

"Since I'm not able to tag along for very long, I figured that I could give you a little something that will still help you along the way. Give that lamp a quick rub and it'll give you or anyone you want a quick boost." he declared with a wide grin, him suddenly gaining a hat and shirt with the word 'Pizza' on it.

"Your delivery will be on time every time, or your money back." Genie continued in a rather fitting and amusing accent before returning back to normal.

"Though, it only has three charges, so you'll have to come back here if you need more." he finished, sounding somewhat sheepish at his own words.

Sora just blinked once more, yet slowly gained a small grin of her own while nodding to him. "Thank you Genie, I really appreciate this." she said as the two shared another quick hug.

"I'll make sure to stop by again...much sooner than before. I promise." the brown-haired teen continued while separating from the genie and picking up Ursa.

Whom had just been sitting around this whole time, not even reacting at all during the fight against Jafar. Though, once the girl lifted the bear into her arms, she gave a quick wave along with Ariel to the group. All of whom returned this gesture before the four vanished, them being teleported back to the Gumi ship in a flash of light. But once they were on board, they all noticed a blinking light on the console. Sora raised a brow, yet instantly recognized this from when she and Kairi received all those messages during their time with Mulan. Despite the teen sighing, she pressed the button to play the single recorded message.

"Sora, I know that you're still away on your mission in revisiting other worlds, but we have some important information to share." the voice of Mickey claimed over the speakers, making each of the three blink a few times.

"Since we don't know if the Organization has hacked into our communications, I'd like you to meet us at my castle. I've attached the coordinates to this message, so come once you're able to." the message continued, to which a row of numbers and letters appeared on the console's screen.

The trio slowly nodded their heads in understanding that 'this' was their next destination. But they quickly looked back to the speakers when the voice of Mickey finished his report. "Oh! And before I go, we do have an important guest here at the castle, so make sure to get here as soon as you can."

After the transmission ended, Sora glanced down to the time in which this message was sent. Which showed it had been received a little more than an hour ago, making the girl smirk lightly. "Well, at the very least...we haven't made them wait too long." she commented with a shrug, her then inputting the coordinates into the ship's navigation system.

Immediately following this, the Gumi ship flew off through space as the three turned toward one another. But it was Aeleus whom spoke up first as he looked to Sora with a narrowed gaze; "First of all...are you absolutely sure it's a good idea to bring 'it' with us?" he asked, pointing directly at Ursa in a 'this is your last chance to reconsider'-way.

"Of course~! It's better he's with us, rather than with the Organization." was her simple, yet very effective answer.

"And if it's the Organization's plan to have this Heartless with us?" Aeleus countered as his narrowed eyes never wavered in the slightest.

"Then we'll foil those plans when they come. Besides, if there is a chance of having Ursa on our side...I don't see why we wouldn't want to take advantage of that opportunity." Sora responded in a soft manner while taking on a smile.

Though the man gave a sighing nod, he still didn't appear completely convinced. But he just continued on with his questions as his stare actually seemed to become even more serious. "Now about that form you took earlier. What happened exactly?"

Upon this question, Ariel also looking to the other teen as she was also very interested in knowing what her answer would be. But Aeleus continued on as if to clarify exactly what it was he wanted to know from Sora. "I know you said it happened after Vexen's words about killing me, but what was the process? What did it feel like? And what was going through your mind the whole time? I assume your consciousness didn't fade completely since you still remember what occurred."

The brown-haired girl looked to the man for a few moments before down at the floor, her reluctance to answer was finally showing through. "Well...the process itself was confusing. It sort of felt similar to when I activated a Drive Form, like my Valor or Wisdom. But this felt so much...colder." she started in a soft tone, closing both eyes and placing a hand over her heart.

"Like every ounce of my energy was being drained away, rather than concentrated into something. I think it was as if my instincts took over and all my power was forcibly pulled into whatever my mind thought I needed." the teen continued as she reopened her eyes and looked to the man with a shrug.

"In this case...raw strength and the power of Darkness." Aeleus added silently with a nod, him starting to understand what happened.

"As for what was going through my mind during the whole thing...I'm actually not sure." Sora said, her gaze shifting back to the floor once more.

"It's not so much that I remembered what happened because I could see what was going on...more like I could simply sense everything as it occurred." she spoke in a silent manner, slowly placing a hand over her mouth in a thoughtful way.

"I could feel my movements and attacks...I could hear the sounds as if they were echoing around me...and I could detect everything and everyone in the vicinity with some weird sixth sense." the girl continued, to which she glanced to both the others.

Neither of whom appeared to fully understand her words, yet they still believed them due to what they had seen. Though, Sora eventually gave a soft smile to them while unconsciously hugging Ursa in her arms. "But it's thanks to all those that I managed to snap out of it. After feeling your presence and hearing your voices, my mind started to reawaken and the primal instincts to attack faded away." she stated, a slightly wider smile curling her lips.

After the teen finished, Aeleus slowly gave a nod of his head in response. Him seeming to have gotten all the information he was hoping for as he then looked out the window of the ship. "It appears our destination is in view." he said with a gesture toward the world directly ahead.

It having a rather normal appearance with grasslands, oceans and a few areas with large mountain ranges. However, what drew the most attention was a very large kingdom that was slowly coming into view the closer they got. The main castle being very large in size as it appeared even bigger than the palace the group had just come from in Agrabah. This structure's coloration was also quite different, it being mostly white, with blue roof tops and the occasional golden framing.

"Whoa~..." both Sora and Ariel hummed out as the ship automatically flew inside of a building that housed many other Gummi ships.

Once landing, the three exited and looked around the area with blinking eyes. Their surroundings had many turning gears along the walls, while large machines preformed maintenance on the ships in the docking bay. Despite appearing to be fully automated at first glance, the group eventually noticed the pair of chipmunks moving miniature controls for the massive machinery doing the work. These two giving the trio a wave in greeting as Sora quickly returned the gesture. "Keep up the good work~!" she called out before each of them headed toward the door leading out.

But after going through it, they looked straight up through the tall winding staircase hundreds of meters high. "Well...I guess we should get climbing." Ariel said as they started going up the stairs.

Yet after only a few dozen meters, Sora began to whine out silently with a pout. "Ugh~, I hate stairs~!" she huffed out as the other two just looked back to her from over their shoulders.

The brown-haired teen slowly drifting further and further behind as they continued up. Though, rather than slowing down, the pair simply kept going as they knew Sora would catch up eventually. Said girl sighing very heavily as she kept complaining, despite it mostly being to herself. "Oh my gosh...so many stairs. I'd like to find the person who invented the stairs, then push them down these stairs. Just to show them how stupid stairs are." she muttered in a groan.

"It'll be ironic justice for the sake of having to climb these dumb stairs." Sora continued as she glanced up at the exit at the top and the bottom in order to see her progress.

"And oh my gosh I'm not even close to being at the top yet!" the girl continued with a heavy sigh.

"Why are there so many stairs~?!" she all but demanded, her tone making it sound like it was some kind of crime.

This lead for Ariel and Aeleus to glance back to her once more, yet they just sighed softly and continued on. Though, Sora then groaned silently again and moved to the edge of the staircase. "Alright...that's it." she almost growled before jumping up through the empty circular space between the stairway.

After doing so, she instantly caught up with the other two, yet the teen just repeated her action until finally reaching the top. "Ha! Told you stairs were stupid!" she declared as if talking to the actual stairs themselves.

Following her comment, the other two slowly reached the top as well. Though, neither of them seemed as tired as the brown-haired girl, whom pouted upon seeing this. "How can you not be exhausted?" she questioned in a truly surprised tone.

"Probably because, we're not carrying him?" Ariel pointed out with a soft chuckle, gesturing to Ursa in the other teen's arms.

Sora blinked to this briefly while looking down to the bear, to which she shrugged her shoulders. "It's not like he's heavy or anything." she said silently, holding Ursa slightly closer.

Aeleus simply shrugged back before they went through the set of doors they were now in front of. Upon opening them, it revealed a large garden-like courtyard. There being sculpted hedges of various animals, but they all shared the theme of playing some sort of musical instrument. As the three moved through this area, they admired the impressive job of such hedge work. However, they quickly paused when two familiar voices were heard nearby.

"Are you sure we shouldn't have waited for them in the docking bay?" Goofy questioned, tilting his head to the side.

"Of course! There is only one way to go from down there...and that's up here." Donald responded quickly as he crossed his feathered arms.

"Besides...I'm not about to climb down those stairs, only to back up again." the duck continued, leading for Sora to make a gesture toward these voices as if to further her previous point.

Yet she then headed closer to these two along with the others, to which they eventually came into view of one another. "Hey guys~!" Sora called out with a grin, to which Donald and Goofy quickly turned to her with smiles on their features.

Though, as they were about to rush up to her, they paused when seeing the Heartless bear in her arms. "Um...Sora, is that a stuffed toy?" the anthropomorphic dog questioned, blinking many times.

"Nope, he's a Heartless~." the teen responded in a near hum, holding Ursa a bit higher in her arms.

Despite both Goofy and Donald blinking many times to this, they just seemed to accept it and opened the set of doors they had been standing in front of. "A-Anyway, the King is waiting for you." the second of the pair said as they all moved through the doors and up a short set of stairs.

Of which brought them to a very long hallway, but Mickey was clearly visible near the end of it. However, a very tall and muscular figure was standing alongside the short mouse. But rather than questioning whom it could be, both Sora and Ariel instantly knew who it was. "D-Daddy?" the latter of the two stuttered out with a blinking gaze.

* * *

 **Hooray for stealing LittleKuriboh's jokes~! XD But in all honesty, I couldn't not have that reference with the stairs. It just fit too well. ;) Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed and look forward to seeing where this goes next. Until then.**


	49. Disney Castle part II

**Sorry that this was a week late. I actually had it nearly completed last Friday, I simply needed to edit it. But then a bunch of stuff started happening and I never got the chance to finish it till just the other day. So yeah, sorry again and I hope this will make up for it.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 48: Disney Castle part II

"D-Daddy?" Ariel uttered out in shock and confusion while staring at King Triton.

Whom was wearing suit-like attire, similar to the kind typically worn by the humans of his world. It being a sea-blue color with a white undershirt, black shoes and golden cufflinks. Despite still having his crown and trident, he looked somewhat different from his normal merman self. The main reason being the fact that, thanks to his human legs, he was even larger than Aeleus himself. Said man having looked from Triton to Ariel with a slightly raised brow, him not quite seeing the family resemblance.

"Ariel." the King of the ocean hummed back as he turned toward his daughter in a mixture of emotions.

The first, yet most hidden, was his worry and concern about the girl's safety. However, this quickly shifted thanks to not only hearing her voice, but also seeing for himself that she was okay. It being almost immediately replaced by his frustration, which boiled forth as eyes narrowed. Triton then immediately headed right for the three, his focus remaining on Ariel the whole way. "Do you have any idea how worried your sisters and I have been?!" he demanded firmly, coming right up in front of his daughter.

"We've been looking for you for half a day! And after hearing about what happened near the main land, we all thought you might have died!" the man claimed, his tone alternating between anger and sadness while he spoke.

Triton obviously being glad that she she was alive and safe, but also upset that she let everyone worry so much. Ariel tilted her head down in shame, obviously taking responsibility for her actions. Something of which Triton noticed as he noticeably appeared to calm down, to which he continued on with his words. "I only discovered what happened thanks to Mickey here." he said, giving a brief glance toward the mouse king to the side.

"He told me that he would get into contact with Sora and ask her to come here as soon as possible." Triton continued as his gaze shifted briefly over to the brown-haired teen.

"When I told him I wanted to be there to make sure you were alright, he was kind enough to let me come here." he added in a appreciative tone toward Mickey before looking back to Ariel.

Said teen slowly looked up to her father, gaining a rather pleading expression upon her features. "I'm sorry daddy, I was going to tell you...I really was." she started, keeping eye contact all the way until the end.

At which point, Ariel tilted her head down once more in shame. Only this time, a few tears started welling up in her eyes while she spoke. "But I was just so excited at the idea of seeing another world, I unconsciously decided not to say anything out of the fear of you telling me that I couldn't go." the girl continued, her voice being a bit strained as she tried to keep herself from crying.

Despite Triton appearing as though he was about to yell, he instead just paused for a few moments. After taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he slowly reopened them and looked at his daughter once more. "I know you are eager to explore other worlds. And while I probably would have told you not to go, I hope you now understand why. It's not always safe and can be extremely dangerous." he spoke as his own voice seemed to become significantly calmer and gentler.

"I only want to keep you safe." the king said, giving Ariel a soft gaze as if he were about ready to cry.

"I don't want to lose you." Triton finished, him now seeming to look as though he was going to hug his daughter.

Instantly following these words though, he didn't even have to worry about making this decision. Ariel had quickly jumped up and hugged her father while small tears fell from her eyes. "I'm so sorry daddy!" she sobbed out with a brief sniffle afterward.

"I know." the King whispered, a couple of his own tears welling up slightly as he returned the red-haired girl's hug.

Despite only being a couple minutes, their hug almost felt like it wasn't long enough as Sora sniffed lightly and wiped away a couple tears of her own. The whole scene being quite touching as the other teen immediately started thinking of visiting her mother again soon. Yet Triton slowly released his daughter and cleared his throat before speaking in his normal voice once more. "I will say that as punishment for not telling me, you will be returning back to our world and will be grounded for a month." he stated in a very father-like tone.

Even though Ariel appeared as if she going to argue, she just smiled softly and nodded in response. "Alright daddy." she whispered, almost feeling happy that he actually seemed to understand her feelings.

"Does this mean after that month is over, she can come with me again? With your permission of course." Sora questioned, her seeming to quickly add the last part when the man turned toward her.

Triton looked down at the teen for a few seconds before nodding his head in response. "Yes, but any world you bring her to better be the safest possible. Is that clear?" he all but ordered with a firm tone and gaze.

"Of course~!" the brown-haired girl sang out, yet received a somewhat suspicious gaze in return.

"I-I mean, yes sir!" she continued quickly, even offering a brief salute to the man.

Whom gave a nod of his head, though there seemed to be something more he had to say to Sora. Causing her to blink a couple times and slowly tilt her head to the side. However, the moment he spoke his next words, the girl instantly froze in what could only be described as absolute terror. "Of course, I had that boy Riku tell your mother about this incident. As it would be improper of me to punish you in her stead."

Even after noticing the teen's sudden tension, Triton simply continued on with a shrug. "I know you had a hand to play in all this, so I felt it was necessary to make sure you receive a punishment as well."

Sora appeared almost frozen in place as she gulped down; "M-M-My mom is gonna find out?" she whispered out nervously, her then looking to Mickey in a pleading manner.

"R-Riku didn't leave already...did he?" the teen questioned with another gulp soon after.

"Actually, he left about an hour ago." the mouse responded, giving a shrug of his shoulders.

This leading for Sora to let out a whimper that, while adorable, was very telling of her fear of her mother's punishment."I'm doomed." she uttered in a defeated manner as her head tilted down to emphasis this.

Following this, Triton cleared his throat and made a gesture for Ariel to make her goodbyes. Said girl nodding to her father as she gave Sora, Aeleus, Donald and Goofy each a hug. "Stop by again soon, alright?" she said after taking a step back from the four.

"Of course~!" Goofy called out happily with a wide smile.

"Whenever we get the chance." Donald added, shrugging his shoulders and offering a smile of his own.

"As long as I survive." the brown-haired girl said in a halfway joking, halfway nervousness manner.

Meanwhile, Aeleus just gave a nod in response to her as while they only met a little while ago, he had already begun to respect the teen. Ariel herself giving a grinning wave to the group as she and her father started heading back down the hallway. "I'll be waiting!" the red-haired girl shouted to the four.

After this, the pair eventually disappeared down the stairway the teen had come through the others. Though, almost instantly after hearing the doors opening and closing, Mickey finally moved in to join the four. "Sorry for calling all of you here, but there is some important news I think we all need to hear." he said, gesturing for them all to follow him further down the hallway.

At the end of which, were a set of doors that Donald and Goofy had opened up for Mickey. Despite this gesture likely being common, the mouse appeared a bit embarrassed that his best friends still did such things for him. Upon pulling the doors open, it revealed a study-like room with shelves of books all along the far wall. There being a long table placed directly in front of these shelves, which had a few stacks of books placed on either end as if someone had recently been reading them.

However, standing in the room were Kairi, DiZ, Namine and Merlin. The two girls seeming to have taken the area left of the desk, while the two men were on the other side. But where Kairi and Namine appeared to be holding a pleasant conversation, Merlin and DiZ seemed to be avoiding eye contact. It being clear, even to the untrained eye that they just had an argument of some sort. Upon Sora entering the room though, all four immediately turned toward her as if somehow expecting something from the teen.

This barely even registering for the girl as she had simply rushing over to Kairi and Namine. Of whom she quickly hugged at the same time, one for each arm. "Hey guys~! Long time no see~!" Sora sang out happily before releasing the pair and just smiling to them.

"It's only been a couple days." Kairi muttered, shrugging her shoulders briefly.

"Well...it's been been a couple weeks for me." Namine added softly while raising a hand up slightly.

"Whatever the case...far too long~!" the brown-haired girl declared as she gave them another, yet shorter hug this time.

After letting the pair go once more, Sora turned to the others with a tilt of her head while Donald and Goofy were closing the doors behind them. "What about Riku? Shouldn't he also be here to listen to this?" she questioned with a blinking gaze of curiosity.

"Don't worry, he should be here any second now." Mickey said, just before a corridor of darkness appeared to the side of them.

Although it put everyone on edge for a few moments, they all calmed down when Riku came through. "I'm not late, am I?" the teen asked, raising a brow to the group.

"Nope, you're just in time." Merlin said, him finally seeming to break away from whatever silence that had engulfed him and DiZ.

"Show off." Sora muttered toward her silver-haired friend, obviously rather jealous that he could use corridors of darkness freely.

"Well, to start us off..." the mouse king began, gaining everyone's attention as he gave another brief glance to each of them.

"...thanks to Sora's efforts, Demyx has been removed from the Organization. Right now, Master Yen Sid is making sure to have his normal self located and brought to his tower once he appears. We're not sure how long it'll take, but if Arlene's progress is anything to go by, I'd say that we stand a good chance of gaining him as an ally as well." he continued, giving Sora a nod of his head.

The girl simply smiled to him as she returned this gesture; "Speaking of Arlene, how is she doing?" she questioned quickly as she knew Mickey was about to keep going.

"She's doing well. While she is still the same, personality-wise...she does seem more likely to be our ally and friend, than our enemy." the king responded, almost seeming to expect this inquiry from the teen.

"Next is the work DiZ and Namine have been doing." Mickey started, his tone suddenly becoming quite serious.

"We've found out that one of the Organization's main bases is in fact in Hollow Bastion. It's within an old lab that they've modified to literally manufacture Heartless on a massive scale. Though we're not fully sure about the purpose other than to simply build in numbers, we'll continue investigating. However, there are two main two reasons for why we called all of you here. The first one..." Mickey explained, yet paused for a few seconds while giving Sora a direct glance.

"...is that the Organization has a secret project going on. And it's utilizing some kind of data they've been gathering from you, Sora." he claimed, to which everyone turned their gaze at the teen.

Whom blinked many times in confusion and a bit of shock, though she then tilted her head down in thought. "I'm guessing the details of this project weren't accessible?" she asked with a glance over toward Namine and DiZ.

Despite the former wanting to speak up, the latter interrupted as he sounded somewhat upset. "Oh no, we were able to find out a few things about it before our access was cut off. It seems that they're using data you personally gave to them in order to create beings similar to that of Xion." the man claimed as the room went quiet as everyone understood what this could mean.

"They're going to start cloning you, Sora. And considering the name of this project, I doubt things will turn out like they did with Xion." DiZ continued, making the brown-haired girl blink briefly to him.

"What's it called?" she questioned almost on instinct.

Before he could answer however, Namine spoke up in a silent manner as she looked at the other teen with a rather sympathetic expression. "Project: Voiceless Keyblade."

* * *

 **And there you have it, the Organization is up to no good once again. Will Sora and the gang be able to stop them? Tune in next time for more Kingdom Hearts. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed and will let me know what you thought. Until next time.**


	50. Disney Castle part III

**I'm glad I actually got this one out on time. I almost had to delay till tomorrow or possibly even next week, but it seems that things worked out in my favor. Also, prepare yourselves for quite the interesting adventure starting next chapter. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoy. ;)**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 49: Disney Castle part III

"'Project: Voiceless Keyblade'?" Sora echoed back with a blinking gaze, yet she slowly ended up sighing in an exasperated manner.

"That sounds so lame." she added silently while shaking her head in disappointment.

"Says the person whom called their toy Tyrannosaurus Rex; 'King-osaurus of awesomeness'." Riku commented under his breath, yet it was still heard by everyone.

The brown-haired girl huffed and pouted to this, to which she then looked back to Namine with a clearing of her throat. "A-Anyway...I'm guessing with a name like that, they're likely planning on creating a bunch of mindless clones of me?" she asked, crossing both arms under her chest.

"That's what we've come to assume as well. But even if they are mindless...they'll still be very dangerous since they will very likely have all of the same powers and abilities you do." the blond answered, causing everyone to go silent.

Each of them picturing a scene of multiple Soras laying waste to an entire world within a matter a minutes, if not seconds. "We've gotta stop them any way we can." Sora herself stated in a firm tone as she seemed quite determined.

"Hmph, we wouldn't even need to worry about such a thing if you hadn't given your data to them in the first place." DiZ claimed, narrowing his only visible eye on the girl.

Whom turned toward him with a shrug and sigh; "How was I supposed to know that it could lead to such a thing? I mean, in hindsight, it's obvious. But back then, I barely even knew who or what the Organization was." Sora said as her own eyes narrowed slightly at him.

Despite DiZ looking as if he wanted to speak further, Merlin quickly interrupted by clearing his throat and speaking up. "Regardless, we will find a way to stop this Project somehow. So there is no sense in arguing about this." he started, yet his gaze slowly shifted over to Mickey with a curious glance.

"Though, I recall you mentioning that there were 'reasons' for wanting all of us here. Meaning, there is more you need to tell us." the old wizard said, earning a nod in response from the mouse.

"Yes, there is one last piece of news I want to bring to everyones' attention." Mickey started, giving glance around the room.

"Riku and I discovered a door." the king continued as he slowly took in and let out a breath afterwards.

"And from what we observed after going through it...it leads into the past." he finished, to which almost everyone's eyes widened heavily.

"H-How far back does it go? And where did you find it?" Sora questioned quickly while slowly narrowing her gaze.

"As for how far back into the past it leads, we're not entirely sure...but we did narrow it down thanks to some land marks." Mickey began before turning toward Merlin.

"...it appears as though it leads roughly back to the time of when you were still living in England." he continued, causing the elder wizard to gaze back in obvious shock.

"As for where we found it..." the mouse said, turning back to Sora.

Yet the king paused when Riku very sharply cleared his throat, to which the pair shared a brief glance with one another. This made Mickey slowly nod to the boy before his eyes shifted over to the brown-haired teen once more. "...it's placed in an area that isn't accessible to many." he finished with a shrug, though he only received a suspicious gaze from the girl.

"Did you lock and seal the door away?" Merlin asked as he clearly understood the dangers of this time period.

"We couldn't." Riku started, sighing lightly in obvious regret.

"The only reason why we found the door in the first place, was because a group of Heartless we were chasing escaped through it. And we couldn't very well let them wreak havoc on the worlds in the past." he finished while tilting his head down in shame for not defeating the creatures fast enough.

After his words, a short silence settled over the group as there seemed to be a collective understanding that this was a dire matter. Not only that, but it was also very delicate in how it could and should be handled since they were dealing with time travel. "Well...I've seen and read enough Science-Fiction stuff to know where this is going." Sora commented silently as she looked around to the group.

"We need to make sure to keep ourselves hidden as much as possible and only help from the background." she continued, leading for everyone to slowly turn towards her.

"Of course, being stealthy and taking care of these Heartless will be a bit of a challenge. So we need to take care of them before they even know they're being attacked." the teen stated while lifting a finger to her chin.

"It'll also be a good idea for no one whom was there at that time, to go there now. I have no idea what would happen if they met themselves in the past, but we shouldn't take the chance." Sora said, her almost seeming to be talking to herself at this point.

However, Mickey just smiling lightly before going over to the teen; "I'm glad you understand all of this." he uttered while sidestepping so that he could look to Sora and the other two girls at the side time.

"My original intention was to only send Namine there to deal with this threat. But if you understand what needs to be done and how to do it...then perhaps you could join her." Mickey continued, to which both these teens looked to one another.

Namine appearing a bit shocked and excited that she would be working with the other girl. Meanwhile, Sora herself was more surprised and impressed that the blond was about to do this mission on her own. Though, because of this, neither of them noticed the look Riku gave to the king. It being a very demanding one as if he were asking; 'What do you think you are doing?' to Mickey. Yet Sora and Namine then turned toward Merlin as he spoke up, further distracting from this exchange.

"I should caution the both of you right now. I have no memory of either of you from before our initial meeting...so I hope you will not reveal yourselves to anyone no matter what." he said to them while slowly stroking his long beard.

"Understood." Namine said quickly, giving a nod of her head to the man.

With a soft smile, Sora then turned toward Mickey and Riku as she tilted her head to the side. "So what world is this door in?" she asked with a blinking gaze.

Despite the latter of these two noticeably tensing up from this question, he quickly regained his composure and spoke up. "Before that...I wanna ask you something first." he started, all while raising a brow to her.

"What is with that bear?" the silver-haired boy finished, pointing to said creature as it was sitting next to Sora's feet in a lazy manner.

The teen girl simply smiled lightly and picked the bear up into her arms once more. "This is Ursa. And he's an engineered Heartless created by the Organization." she declared in an almost nonchalant way.

"Oh...is that all." Riku hummed out silently with a nod.

Yet he then quickly, and on purpose, changed his demeanor to an annoyed one in an instant. "Why the heck do you have it with you?!" he demanded, pointing a finger accusingly toward her.

As the others listened to this exchange, both Kairi and Namine looked from the bear to Sora as if wondering if she actually had a good explanation. Merlin had simply sighed, as though he somehow knew such a thing would happen as some point. And though Mickey appeared to be taking all of this in stride, DiZ was fully on edge. The man actually gazing toward Sora in a very suspicious manner, his trust in the teen wavering a great deal as of late.

However, the mood of the whole room shifted as Sora gave a soft smile and held the bear a bit closer. "Because...I wanna help him." she whispered in a gentle tone.

Everyone looking to the girl with a blinking gaze as she continued; "I feel as though Ursa is someone I will eventually come to depend on. So I wanna help break him away from whatever purpose the Organization made for him."

"And what if 'that' is the purpose they have for it?" Riku asked, causing Aeleus to just smirk lightly as he knew the girl was about to give a similar response as the one she offered to him.

"Then I'll just foil that purpose and whatever others they have for him." Sora claimed in a firm manner while looking down to Ursa.

"If there is even the slightest hope of freeing and possibly even befriending him, then I wanna take it." the teen finished, closing her eyes and hugging Ursa a bit closer.

Despite no one saying anything for a few moments, it was clear from their expressions that they had agreed to her plan. "That's the Sora I know." Kairi whispered, breaking the silence just briefly.

The brown-haired girl turned toward her friend for a moment with a small grin, yet she then turned back to Riku. "Anyway, you still haven't told me what world you found the door in yet." she claimed while raising a skeptical brow.

As the boy let out a breath, he appeared to resign himself in telling the other teen. It being clear to Sora that him bringing up Ursa was more of a distraction than anything else. "Well...about that..." he muttered, turning his gaze to the side.

"The good news is, it's in a place you've been to." Riku resumed, his tone showing that he did not wish to reveal this.

Having caught on to this very quickly, Sora just gestured with her hand for him to keep going. "Alright, and the 'bad news'?" the girl asked in a non-hesitating tone, not showing any signs that she would change her mind.

"The bad news is..." the boy continued in a more silent voice as despite his friend's urging, he still couldn't seem to bring himself to finish.

"It's on the top floor of Castle Oblivion." Mickey said quickly, knowing that it would be best not to delay any further.

Sora's eyes widened heavily from this, to which they lost all their light and turned her stare into a vacant one. The girl's grip on Ursa loosening a great deal, almost dropping him in the process as her breathing immediately stopped. All the while, the teen's mind raced with hundreds of flashing memories. Each of these being from her time in Castle Oblivion, but the biggest and most prominent memory was when she witnessed Teng dying right in front of her.

During these brief few seconds, the room almost seemed to become even more quiet than before as most of the occupants just glanced around to each other. The silence only being broken by Sora making a sharp inhale of air as she finally realized that she stopped breathing. "I-I see." was all she could utter out, her feeling and looking quite winded and dizzy.

"I'm sorry if I rushed you Sora. If you're not up for this, you don't have to go." Mickey said softly, him giving her a clear way out.

Him seeing just how heavy this trauma was weighing on the girl's shoulders, it being something he could only guess at previous to now. However, much to everyone's surprise, Sora suddenly grinned and tightened her hug around Ursa once more. "Well, there's no time like the present to go to the past and kick some butt." she declared in a very confident manner.

Each of the others in the room couldn't help but wonder if this was an act or not, but they weren't able to figure it out before the doors suddenly pushed open. This revealing Pluto as he rushed inside, to which he then gave a quick bark toward Mickey before hiding behind the mouse. Instantly after the dog's sudden entrance, everyone moved into a defensive position as they readied their weapons for a fight. Though, Sora soon dropped her guard when watching Maleficent slowly walk into the room with Zola at her side.

"Oh dear...I do hope I'm not interrupting again. I have been doing that quite a lot." the witch hummed out confidently with a soft, yet sinister laugh.

* * *

 **Like I said...quite the interesting adventure starting next chapter. I always felt like the whole 'door to the past' should have played a much bigger role since it's literally time travel. Eat your heart out Xehanort...or maybe don't do that. =/ Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed and will let me know what you thought. Until next time.**


	51. Dark Age England part I

**Sorry for the delay on this chapter. It's actually kinda stupid, but the reason why is mostly because I couldn't figure out the title for this world. 0.o I kept bouncing between ideas before finally settling on this one. Anyway, sorry again and I hope all of you enjoy. ^^**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 50: Dark Age England part I

Sora gazed to the large set of doors far out in front of her as she stood motionless in the middle of a long hallway. Her being on the top floor of Castle Oblivion, yet the teen visibly paused upon seeing the white doors themselves. The girl just looking at them with a nearly blank expression, as though she wasn't even sure what emotion to express to begin with. However, she was brought out of her thoughts as Namine moved up beside the other girl.

"Are you sure you're alright to do this?" the blond asked, tilting her head curiously to the side.

Though Sora gave Namine a brief glance, she shifted her eyes back to the doors as she nodded slowly. "Of course...I've already prepared myself." she answered with a small smile on her features.

"Well, I would sure hope so." Maleficent stated as she came up on the other side of Sora, her glancing down to said teen with an expecting gaze.

"You have a mission after all." she continued, almost sounding like a teacher scolding someone for being late.

"I know, I know." the brown-haired girl said with a heavy sigh, to which the three made their way to the large doors.

Upon reaching them, Sora slowly pulled the dual doors open and just gazed at the nearly blank room within. This causing many memories to flood her mind once more as she took in and let out a heavy breath. Despite all of her mental preperation for what she knew was coming, the teen still felt and appeared a bit shaken. But she tried her best to hide this as she walked into the room and saw another set of doors on the opposite end.

Said entrance not appearing as though they should lead anywhere since they weren't against a wall. Though, while getting closer, the three saw that there was a think silver frame. Of which was highly reflecting and acted almost like a mirror for the group when they reached the doors. But after coming this close, they noticed a strange symbol at the top of the frame that included the letter 'M'.

"Guess this is it." Sora whispered, yet her eyes briefly glanced over toward Maleficent when seeing the 'M'.

The girl obviously thinking she might have something to do with the door's sudden appearance. As for how and why, Sora didn't have any clue. Which just lead for her to reach out to the set of door handles and grasp them gently with either hand. "Alright, I guess we better get started." she whispered out before pulling both doors open.

A few hours ago, the group had just been interrupted by Maleficent as she smirked lightly at everyone. "Dear me..." she hummed as everyone but Sora was pointing their weapons toward her.

"...it seems I'm not very welcome. Despite the fact that I came here to give all of you some useful information in exchange for a simple favor." the witch continued, not even fazed by the sheer number of people against her.

"And what might that be?" Mickey demanded, his eyes remaining heavily narrowed on the woman.

"All in due time, little king." Maleficent started in a clearly taunting and mocking tone.

"But first..." she continued silently before walking directly up to Sora.

Said teen tilting her head to the side in question to why she would risk coming here. "...I have something for our shared ally." the horned witch finished while holding out her hand.

"I thought it would be of use, considering where we'll be going." she continued, to which Sora held out her own hand in response.

This allowing Maleficent to then drop a small silver necklack into the teen's palm. The piece of jewery having chain link band with a green gem in the center, which was surrounded by what looked like a silver dragon head. Upon looking at this, Sora blinked many times and just slowly grinned. "So cool~." she hummed out while looking the necklace over.

"What are you playing at Maleficent?" Riku demanded as his eyes narrowed heavily on the woman.

"You wouldn't just give something away without having a secondary goal in mind. Plus...you said 'we'll'...meaning, you intend to go with them." he continued, bringing his weapon up as if ready to start fighting.

However, the witch merely chuckled as she turned toward Namine and presented her with a similar necklace. Her gesture making many narrow their eyes further as it was clear that she either overheard their conversation, or somehow figured out these two would be the ones whom would go on this mission. But Maleficent then moved a bit of the robe near her neck to reveal that she too was wearing the same necklance she offered. "These are some of my own creations." she began, moving her hand away and taking on a small smirk.

"Enchanted necklaces that, when worn, allows the wearer to pass through an area completely unnoticed. In a sense...they push people's perception away from you, just like they normally would when confronted by a large crowd." the woman continued as she gazed to Sora.

"No one would try to remember every single new face they would encounter, so they shift their focus onto something else. My enchantment takes that concept and allows you to go fully unnoticed, so long as you don't draw any attention to yourself." Maleficent finished, which made everyone immediately understand how and why she managed to get to this point without anyone stopping her.

"Now then...so long as I have all of your attention." the witch started after this brief pause of thinking.

"The information I'm here to present is for the location of the man you have come to know as; Axel. As well as a bit about your little bear friend." she continued, looking from Sora to the Heartless in her arms.

Though almost no one wished to believe Maleficent, they couldn't deny Sora the chance to find Axel. Nor could they risk not knowing more about the bear that the brown-haired teen has basically insisted on having around. "And what is it you want in exchange?" Mickey questioned after a few seconds of musing as to what the woman could be after.

"I merely wish to join them on this mission." Maleficent claimed as a wicked smirk curled her lips.

Even further into the past, Sora, Namine and Maleficent each walked through the other side of the door. Which Revealed a large open field directly ahead of them, yet the three immediately glanced around their surroundings. Them noticing a large castle out in the distance while a thick forest was overgrown directly behind the doors. Though, thanks to a series of bushes, tree branchs and tall grass, the doors were almost completely hidden as soon as they closed behind the group.

"Looks like we don't need to worry too much about someone accidently stumbling across the door." Namine whispered while looking over the now barely visible door.

"True." Sora hummed out as she scanned the region around them with narrowed eyes.

'It's odd though...' she continued to herself, briefly closing her eyes in order to highen her other senses.

'...I'm not really sensing any Heartless within this whole area.' the girl finished within her mind.

After these thoughts, she turned toward Maleficent as said woman appeared to be gazing toward the forest. Her eyes were completely focused as if there was something she was trying to look for. But before Sora could ask about this, the three suddenly heard a male voice calling out from over a small hall. "Why you clumsy little fool!"

This lead for them each to move a bit closer to the forest, making sure that they wouldn't be noticed. The trio listening carefully to this as they then heard another, yet much younger male voice near of the first. "Aw Kay pleace, I'm sorry! I couldn't help it! Please!"

With a few steps closer to these voices, Sora saw a young boy dodging away from the swinging bow of a much older teen. "If I ever-" the latter of these two started, but was interrupted when he tripped over a log in his path of chasing the boy.

Which allowed said youngling to gain more distance between them, but also gave the three watching a better look at the pair. The older of the two was a tall and rather muscular man roughly around twenty years old. His short red hair making a firm contrast against his green shirt, pants and shoes. Him also wearing a brown vest, as well as a lighter brown strap over his chest. This holding a case of arrows on the man's back, making it clear that he was likely on a hunt that failed. Lastly, his features were rather scrunched up, despite having a relatively large nose and jaw.

The younger boy on the other hand was thin and lanky, him having slightly longer blond hair that nearly reached the collar of his brown tunic. His other clothes consisted of light brown pants and shoes, along with a small pouch on the side of his thin belt. But despite being obviously less athletically inclined compared to the older teen, he was able to beat said man to the edge of the forest.

"If I ever get my hands on...on you...I'll...I'll wring your scrawny little neck, so help me I will!" the older male called out, taking in a breath between each pause as he seemed a bit more shaken up over the fall than he likely would admit to.

"I'll get the arrow Kay, I'm sure I can find it." the boy said in a rather timid manner as he hid behind a tree while looking to the man.

Whom finally stopped in his chase and let out a light chuckle in response; "Don't tell me you're going in there. Why it's swarming with wolves." he said while briefly pointing into the forest itself with a finger.

"I'm not afraid." the young boy declared before rushing through the trees.

"Well go ahead! It's your skin, not mine!" the older teen called out with a light laugh; "Go on! Go on!"

After this exchange, the boy rushing further into the forest, and the man simply waltz away without a care in the world. Him heading directly for the castle in the distance, not appearing to care if the younger male perished or not. This made Sora's eyes narrow while looking in the direction the boy ran off in, to which she turned toward the other two. However, before she could speak up in her obvious plan to follow him, Maleficent spoke before she could.

"You're here for a specific job...don't forget that. This isn't the time to get involved in events that shouldn't be changed." she claimed firmly while looking further into the forest.

"The Heartless will not be in there, thanks to Merlin's presence. So that boy will not be any more danger than he normally would." the witch continued as she moved into the meadow ahead of them.

Though Sora wanted to argue, she just nodded in response as the woman was clearly correct. Namine then stepped forward and glanced around the area, to which she turn to the brown-haired teen with a serious gaze. "I can sense a few stray Heartless in the same direction as that castle. We should probably start there." she suggested, leading for the other girl to just blink a few times in response.

Despite this new information, Sora glanced between the blond and the castle a few times. Her unable to sense anything, even with the enhanced sense she gained from the recent incident. But she didn't doubt Namine in the slightest as she simply gave a smirk and nod of her head. "Alright, lets go." she said, the group almost immediately making their way toward the castle.

"So how was it working with DiZ?" the brown-haired teen questioned after just a few steps, her leaning a bit closer to the other girl so they could have a slightly private conversation.

Sora's tone showing that she didn't really like the man much, considering their previous interaction with one another. Something of which the blond picked up on as she merely offered a small smile; "Oh it wasn't too bad." she started, shrugging her shoulders in the process.

"He's not usually so 'grumpy' as a matter a fact, it's just that when the Organization gets something they want or need...he gets pretty upset." the girl continued as a thoughtful expression appeared on her features.

The other girl glanced to her for a few seconds before nodding slowly; "It did seem as though he had a personal grudge against the Organization." Sora said, yet her gaze appeared almost as though she was adding 'Kinda like me' at the end.

Unfortunately Namine did not precive this, as she looking directly ahead during her friend's words. Maleficent on the otherhand, not only did she see this glint in the girl's eyes, but she even smirked slightly when noticing it. Though, the group slowly came to a stop when they had reached the end of the meadow. At which point, Sora could finally sense multiple Heartless from within the castle itself. One in particular having a rather strong power, as well as being loctated near the center of the structure. However, the brown-haired teen's focus shifted toward the blond, tilting her head curiously to the side.

'Her senses are way more attuned than mine. Even after all that training with Yen Sid and that sudden boost I got after the whole 'dark transformation'...she's still way ahead of me.' Sora thought to herself while smirking lightly.

'I've always known that Namine had some extraordinary power, but I don't think I even considered that she might just be even stronger than me.' she continued, yet gained a sheepish smile as she started to wonder if it was even necessary for her to have come along.

* * *

 ***Le gasp* Could it be? Is it she? Could Namine suddenly be relevant again? Well, she is a pretty cool character...so I'm obviously gonna make her as relevant as I can. XD Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed and will let me know what you thought. Until next time everyone.**


	52. Dark Age England part II

**Sorry for not posting last week, I actually couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with this chapter for a while. I rewrote the whole thing multiple times before finally decided on this. I apologize and hope that it making up for the wait.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 51: Dark Age England part II

Upon arriving at the entrance of the castle, the three paused for a moment to actually admire the architecture. While not being as large as the Beast's castle, the old style of this one gave it a 'charm' that none of the other structures seemed to have. However, just as they were about to take their first steps inside the castle walls, the group stopped dead in their tracks. An enormous flow of power pulsed across the landscape and straight toward them with alarming speed.

When turning to look at this wave of energy, all they saw was a mass of distorted air coming at the castle. The ground vibrating more and more as it approached, making the three immediately rush inside. Them barely taking notice of the guards they almost ran in to along the way. Whom of which, appeared not to be at all fazed by the very obvious surge of power coming right for their stronghold. But just as Sora was about to call out for them to get down, the wave of energy passed through every inch of the entire castle with a burst of wind. Even in areas where no entry was possible, there was still a gust that blew through the area while the wave passed over.

After it had however, the group just blinked a few times as nothing seeming to have happened to them, or the castle. They them moved out into the court yard they previously passed through, to which they watched the remants of the pulse slowly disappear into the distance. Which allowed them to let out a breath none of them even realized they were holding in. "Well they was freaky. What even was tha-" Sora started, yet immediately stopped as if noticing something.

As the other two glanced to her in confusion, they too paused before each of the three's expressions turned to shock. "But...how?" Namine whispered as the only thing that changed after the wave of energy, was the fact that every Heartless in the area had vanished.

"That pulse destroyed all of the Heartless in an instant." the blond continued as her gaze turned to a thoughtful one.

"The energy we felt wasn't even particularly filled with 'Light' either." Maleficent began, tapping her chin a few times.

"It was just pure, raw power." she finished while both eyes narrowed slightly.

"So then...how was it able to discern between them and any other creature of darkness?" Namine questioned silently, both her and Sora's gazes meeting.

Yet they then turned toward Maleficent with a tilt of their heads, almost seeking answers to what happened. The teens knowing that if the wave was meant to destroy 'Darkness', then the witch and Sora herself should have been included. This making the brown-haired girl tilt her head down in deep thought, to which she slowly crossed both arms. 'How bizarre.' she thought to herself silently.

However, due the fact that they were standing in the court yard without moving, they three were starting to get noticed by the people passing by. A couple of whom gazed at them for a long while before finally turning away, as if unsure of what to make of the three. Thanks to the necklaces' magic though, people would practically forget ever seeing them the moment they looked away. It being almost as if they were simply imagining things, instead of truly seeing the group.

"Well...we're not gonna get any answers by standing around, we should investigate a bit. Plus, we should make sure that all the Heartless are gone, instead of assuming none of them survived. After all, ff they sensed that pulse coming like we did, then it's possible some escaped into the Realm of Darkness." Sora suggested with a glanced toward the other two.

During her words, the teen started to think that this incident likely had something to do with why Maleficent wanted to come along. But she pushed this thought from her head as they each made their way further into the castle's courtyard. Of which was rather barren, yet still had an occasional group or two rushing by on a mission of their own. All of whom where an obvious servant of sorts, considering that their clothes were visibly poor. Though the thing that caught each of their attention was the tall, yet somewhat unfinished tower near the center. There even being planks of wood holding some of the walls up, rather than stone or bricks.

"Yikes...I pity whomever has to live up there." Sora commented with a blinking gaze at the sole window at the top of the tower.

Immediately following her words, Maleficent let out an actual amused chuckle. It not having her usual condescending tone, as she seemed to find these words genuinely funny. Yet it also made her chuckle sound truly quite beautiful, to which the teens shifted their blinking gazes toward her. However, as if realizing her mistake, the witch changed her chuckle to a typical one midway through. "Now then, it's time to find out just what happened." she stated silently while looking around the area once more.

"I'll check to see if there is a library around, perhaps there is something in one of their history books." Maleficent continued before she just headed off on her way.

This making it almost all too obvious that she was upset, and likely embarrassed, that she allowed herself to slip in her demeanor. The two teens on the other-hand just smirked lightly for a moment before turning to one another. Them having a silent agreement in not trusting the witch to share all, or any, of her findings. They then let out a unified sigh before Sora spoke up in a whisper, as to make sure that Maleficent couldn't overhear. "Guess one of us should keep an eye on her while the other conducts a search of the area for any surviving Heartless?"

Namine tapped her chin a few times to this idea, as despite agreeing to it, she had something else in mind. "Maybe, but I think I have a plan of my own." she claimed as a small smile curled her lips.

Though Sora didn't have very many chances to interact with the other teen, even she could tell that the blond's 'scheme' was likely going to be better. "We'll both go with Maleficent to look for information. As well as keep an eye on her, since two sets of eyes is better than one...especially when it come to her. But while we do, you and I will set up a magic circle of Thunder around this entire castle." she started, leading for the brown-haired girl to lean forward to keep listening.

Sora already liking the sound of this idea, her even slowly gaining a small grin in excitement. "It'll be difficult, but with both of us working together...we'll be able to set the magic circle to react to any unfamiliar signs of dark energy. And while it'll only be strong enough to destroy lesser Heartless, it will also act as an alarm. Letting us know the exact location of a stronger Heartless, if and when one appears." Namine stated while placing both hands to her hips and taking on a wider smile.

"Whoa..." the brown-haired teen muttered with a blinking gaze.

'She really knows her stuff. I don't think I ever would have even thought to use or create a spell like 'that'.' she continued within her mind as a wide grin curled her lips.

"Can you teach me other spells like that?" Sora asked quickly in excitement, just as they were about to start following Maleficent.

"H-Huh?" Namine almost squeaked out in surprise, to which she then looked down in thought for a few seconds.

"Well...I guess I could teach you a couple spells." she added silently, shrugging both shoulders in the process.

Meanwhile, Maleficent watched this interaction from around a corner, causing her to raise a brow. "My my Sora, always so eager to learn." she hummed out in an almost proud manner, her slowly turning to head further inside of the castle itself.

"Too bad it'll likely be your down fall." the witch added to herself while continuing on her way.

After arriving in the castle library, the three quickly realized that the room was hardly used. There being a thick layer of dust on every surface, as well as cobwebs between each empty space small enough to hold one. Though, along the way, both Sora and Namine had succeeded in creating their spell. Which spread across the entire castle, as well as some of the grassland surrounding it. But the way they had to preform it required them to hold one another's hand the whole time.

Though the blond was fully calm during this, the other teen felt a little awkward since she couldn't help but feel like she shouldn't be doing that. Yet, after their spell succeeded, Sora couldn't help but notice just how strong and refined Namine's magic was. Her able to feel firsthand that the blond's power was on a completely different league to her own. "Now I understand why they were considering just sending you here by yourself, you magic is amazing." she muttered just as they each started their search through the dust-covered books.

"Well, sure I'm plenty strong on my own...but no one would have actually had me come here alone." the other teen responded with a wave of her hand.

"I'm sure Riku or Kairi would have come with me, they just didn't get the chance to volunteer before you did." she continued while offering a small smile to the girl.

"And as for my magic...it's simply more refined." Namine said, tilting her head up in thought for a moment.

"Think of our magic as rocks." she carried on, lifting a hand up slightly and extending her index finger.

"Mine would be like a finely cut gem stone from being cultivated over the course of a lot of training and practice." she explained as her smile slowly widened.

"Yours would be like a mass of minerals all mixed together into one. Despite having been trained in multiple ways, your shape still hasn't formed since all that training has been too sporadic. But it does mean that you have have enormous potential once you have refined yourself. It will simply take time and practice before you become a gem stone." Namine finished, her expression softening with a clear gaze of encouragement.

Sora blinked a few times before taking on a grin, this simile making perfect sense and served to encourage her. "Thanks Namine." she whispered silently while her grin widened slightly.

Following their conversation, the pair then started on their own search for answers. Though, the first few minutes had been of the brown-haired teen trying not to read a book titled; 'Art of Knighthood'. Something of which made her briefly think of Seifer, and how he had promised to teach her how to be a better sword fighter. But after finally getting to work, not a single one of them found anything useful for almost two hours. At which point, a commotion in one of the other rooms of the castle was heard. The three able to hear dogs barking and multiple voices echoing out from down the hall. But when they felt Merlin's magic being used, they each froze in place. All of them knowing that they had to stay as far away from the man as possible, if they didn't wish to potentially change the future.

Even Maleficent herself appeared to be in agreement to this as they all moved toward the back of the library. Where of which, a few seats and tables were seen, as well as a fireplace that didn't look like it had been used in , on each of the tables, there were multiple manuscripts stacked atop one another in a rather messy fashion. But when comparing them to the books in the library, these appeared to have far less dust on them.

This sparking a bit of interest in the group as they glanced over a few of these manuscripts. Upon doing so, they realized that they were documentations detailing the typical events happening within the castle. Some being about the trades with other castles, or the amount of crops they harvested that year. But one entry in particular popped out to Namine as she picked this manuscripts up into her hands. "'Another strong force of wind blew through the castle, even through the very walls and windows. It has happened thrice this month, yet there is still no telling where it comes from. But these strange winds always seem to come from the North, away from London.'" she read aloud while looking at the papers in her hands with a hard gaze.

"'We believe it to be the will of the heavens as all evil, monsters or otherwise, seem to vanish in its wake.'" the blond continued, to which the other two slowly narrowed their gaze.

"I guess that's why none of the people we saw seemed to react to it, despite the massive amount of energy." Sora commented, looking down at the ground thoughtfully.

"So it's coming from the North, huh? Perhaps we should investigate this 'London', as I doubt any Heartless will be attempting to attack this castle now that Merlin is here." Maleficent claimed with a small, yet knowing smirk.

However, almost as if to try and prove the woman wrong, both Sora and Namine felt their spell activate. But when they sensed this direct hit, their eyes narrowed heavily when they then felt the target grow stronger for it, rather than being destroyed. The teens quickly turned to one another in a bit of shock, to which they then rushed off on their way to reach their new foe. Maleficent on the other-hand just appeared pleased with herself, as if she wanted to jinx the pair with her words.

"Ugh...you were hoping for that, weren't you~?!" Sora called out with a huff, making the witch just chuckle and shrug.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Maleficent hummed while slowly following after the pair.

As they went, Namine appeared to become more and more suspicious of the witch. Her knowing that it's too much of a coincidence for a powerful Heartless to show up just after they gained useful information. Though, she kept followed the other teen while keeping these thoughts to herself. The blond now believing that all of this was just a setup, and Maleficent is slowly leading them into some sort of trap.

'I need to figure this out quick, otherwise...Sora might take her side and we'll both be in trouble.' Namine thought to herself before the group came face-to-face with the boy from before, Aurther Pendragon.

* * *

 **Alright, there we go. I now have a plan of where I want to take this part of the story. I was stuck between ideas for a long time and couldn't figure out which one to go with. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed and will let me know what you thought. Until next time.**


	53. Dark Age England part III

**Sorry that this a bit later than normal, I was editing it just before uploading and I ended up rewriting almost half of it in the process. So, um...yeah, hope you still enjoy.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 52: Dark Age England part III

The moment Sora saw the boy out of the corner of her eye, she immediately stopped her momentum. However, the same couldn't be said for Aurther himself as he ran right into the teen. But only the boy had been knocked over from the impact, it practically feeling as though he struck a soft wall. This making the brown-haired girl blink briefly, as she barely even felt the collision. Yet she was more surprised when Aurther literally went sprawling backward after his head hit her chest.

"Talk about dangerous weapons." Maleficent commented with amusement in her voice, making Sora turn to her in confusion.

All the while, Namine groaned silently and glanced between Sora's chest and her own. Though, each of them quickly turned back to Aurther as he stood back to his feet and gave a bow. "S-Sorry! I wasn't watching where I-" he started in his apology, before actually looking at Sora in a proper manner.

Upon doing so, his eyes widened and a light flush was visible on his features. "...I...I...I..." he continued, but couldn't manage out anything further.

Despite Sora raising a brow, she didn't seem to notice the boy's clear sign of infatuation as she simply waved a hand. "It's fine, just make sure to keep your head raised high, alright?" the girl said as she walked over to Auther's side and places a hand on his shoulder.

But before the boy could stutter out his reply, the brown-haired teen continued on her way together with the other two. Leaving Aurther in the middle of a hallway just gazing dreamily at the ceiling; "Wow..." was all he muttered to himself in this haze, yet he slowly snapped out of it and began chasing after the group.

'I forgot to ask her name.'

Meanwhile, as Sora rushed through the castle, she kept receiving rather sly glances from the other two. "What?" she asked finally with a light pout.

"Nothing." was all Namine said as a small smirk curled her lips, obviously teasing the other girl.

After pouting even more to this, Sora turned her attention to Maleficent, as if asking for her to say more. "Oh you know...just admiring your natural charm and womanly wiles." the witch claimed, a grin spreading on her features.

Yet, even this comment did not seem to get through to the teen any more than the blond's words. Causing her to blink a few more times and whine out with a huff; "I don't get it~! What are you talking about~?!"

However, this conversation came to an abrupt end when they reached the court yard and saw a human-sized Heartless. It looking like a typical Neoshadow, yet there were a few red, vein-like lines across its body. Along with this, there was a blitz ball-sized orb embedded into its back. Of which gave off a low hum as it started to shine brighter and brighter the closer the group came to it. This even seeming to act as an alarm as the Heartless quickly turned towards them just as glow seemed to reach a certain threshold.

Even though the group didn't get a very long look at this sphere, Namine slowly glanced over to Maleficent. Her gaze clearly painted the witch as the mastermind behind this oddity. Though, the woman herself appeared to be looking at the Heartless with an interested expression. However, it was unclear if it was an interest for something familiar, or foreign. But this didn't stop the blond from believing that she was somehow behind this, to some degree or another. These thoughts were swiftly halted when her and Sora's spell activated once more, striking the Heartless with a bolt of lightning.

Immediately following this, the electrical magic was absorbed into the sphere like a super conductor. Of which lead for the creature to then double in size, as well as for the three watching to blink in shock. Yet the two teens quickly turned to one another, as they knew that their spell had to be brought down as soon as possible. As they stretched out their hands toward each other, the beast suddenly appeared directly between them. Its whole body having a thin coating of electricity, as it brought both arms out toward the two girls.

In the same moment, Sora and Namine jumped away from the Heartless and brought up mirroring Reflega spells. These being instantly engulfed in lightning, as multiple bolts were shot out from the creature's hands. Thanks to their barriers though, the pair blocked these attacks with ease. Maleficent on the other-hand, was now standing far off to the side. Her having teleported to this spot even before the being of darkness had moved. "Fascinating, isn't it? A Heartless that can wield magic at will, despite not having any kind of special appearance." the witch hummed out in a tone that plainly showed her interest.

Despite Sora looking to her with an expression of wanting to tell the woman off, she ended up turning back to the creature with a shrug. "I guess it is a little fascinating." she whispered before summoning her Keyblade.

Upon hearing this, Namine glanced between the two in a swift manner. Her piecing together that the witch is behind this Heartless' unique abilities, but she still had no solid evidence of it. Which made her all the more worried, as Sora herself seemed to be slowly turning to Maleficent's side of things. This driving the blond to lift a hand out and shoot out a small ball of fire, which flew at the beast with great speed. 'I have to think of some way to prove it.' she thought to herself just as her attack exploded against the Heartless.

Though, instantly following this burst of flames, the fire suddenly began funneling toward the orb on the Heartless' back. These embers disappearing inside of it in less than a second, revealing the creature to have not been effected by this attack at all. But thanks to the weak nature of her spell, it didn't provide enough energy to let the beast increase in size. "So it absorbs all magic, yet requires a certain amount before it can grow." Namine muttered silently before looking to Sora once more.

"We should either defeat it quickly, or lead it away from the castle. We can't let anyone get hurt, especially not here and now." she called out hastily.

The brown-haired girl gave a nod in agreement, before turning her attention to the Heartless. Of which was gazing at Namine, now that she had just given it even more magic to 'feed' on. This allowing Sora to get a better look at the orb on its back, to which her eyes narrowed on it. Upon doing so however, she started feeling weak and drowsy. The girl realizing all too late that the sphere's core was emanating a hypnotic pulse. It causing Sora's muscles to slowly lock up from her eyes down, not allowing her to look away in time.

"Don't..look..at..it." was all she could manage out before her body froze in place.

Namine looked back to her friend with a shocked gaze, to which she called out to her friend. But her voice had been drowned out by a loud clap of thunder. This coming from the beast's hand as it shot a large bolt of lighting at her. Although, because her barrier was still being up, this attack never reached the girl. It also allowing her to rush toward Sora without worry from the Heartless' further magical strikes.

However, she was finally blocked from reaching the brown-haired girl as her opponent moved its body in the way. Namine then moved a hand out in front of her, creating several dozen beams of light above and around her. Each one shooting at the creature swiftly, to which they pierced into its body and remained embedded within it. "This should end it." Namine stated before holding a finger out and shooting a beam of light through her foe's chest.

In the same moment though, another bolt of lightning from her and Sora's spell struck down onto the Heartless. It kicking up a dust cloud as the blond blinked a few times, her wondering if the attack actually finished the beast off. But her question was swiftly answered as a massive hand reached out toward her, it being wreathed in both fire and lightning. While blinking multiple times, Namine noticed that her barrier was about to shatter from under the weight. This making her jump backwards as the magic explosions from her Reflega spell were absorbed into the creature's hand.

As the dust cleared, it revealed the Heartless to now appear exactly like a slightly smaller Darkside. Along with this though, the orb had also grown in size, as it now fit within the heart-shaped hole in its chest. "This is getting tricky." Namine muttered, her not understanding why she didn't defeat it with her attacks.

Though, the answer came sooner than expected as she had noticed Sora on the other side of the Heartless. Said teen having finally snapped out of the hypnosis thanks to having the orb being taken out of her view by the dirt. Yet because some of it got into her eyes, she never saw what was coming. The Heartless slowly retracted its hand and began glow a bright white. This almost instantly expanding into a large pillar of Light energy that engulfed both teens.

While it merely knocked Namine backward slightly, the same couldn't be said for Sora. When she was hit by the attack, her body ignited in white flames, which burned at her body. All the while, the girl was thrown into a nearby wall before crumpling to the ground. Afterward, she simply let out a groan and started patting out the lingering white flames. There being visible burns on her skin, of which appeared a bit tanner than normal. But as she looked at the Heartless, her gaze narrowed as it started moving toward her. This showing that it had enough intelligence to know its attack effected her the most.

"Well...that one actually hurt." Sora hummed out, slowly standing to her feet with another groan of pain.

Meanwhile, Namine could only stare in horror at what just happened, her barely even believing it. "Th-That Heartless just absorbed my Light. It...It just used the power of Light." she whispered out in utter shock before turning toward Maleficent.

Whom had been smiling this whole time, obviously enjoying the 'fight'. "You planned 'this' far ahead in knowing that I'd be coming here?" Namine uttered in complete disbelief before turning back to Sora.

"I'm sorry Sora! It's absorbing both my magic and my Light! I can't fight it without making it stronger!" she half warned, half apologized.

"Don't worry about it. At least we both didn't get caught in that hypnotism." Sora said with a small smirk and chuckle, yet didn't take her eyes off the Heartless.

Her no longer appearing to be shaken by the attack, even her injures were already gone. "Just focus on taking down our spell so it doesn't keep getting bigger. I'll distract it long enough to find some kind of weakness." she continued, finally looking at the blond and offering a confident smile.

Said girl blinked briefly before smiling softly and nodding her head in response. Instantly following this, Sora rushed to the side with her Keyblade at the ready. Meanwhile, the blond moved in the other direction and stood opposite to Maleficent in the courtyard. Her obviously wanting to keep a close eye on the woman while she worked. Yet the witch barely even paid any attention to her, as Maleficent's attention was solely on Sora.

'It shouldn't take long to break the spell under normal circumstances, but considering the raw power Sora put into it...it might take a little more time than usual.' Namine thought to herself before starting to concentrate, just as yet another bolt of lightning struck the Heartless.

The brown-haired teen sighed to this as she simply jumped moved through the electricity and struck the creature hard in the chest. It being knocked down, yet with a much bigger thud than it would have before being hit by the spell. The Heartless now looking like a full-sized Darkside, to which it swung a fist toward the teen. Of which she had dodged due to it having a bright white glow around it.

"It's almost like..." Sora muttered as she started thinking of her own Heartless, whom would grow stronger and even take on a different shape when they absorbed the power of other Heartless.

"Looks like someone is trying to fast-track that whole process." she whispered to herself, narrowing both eyes in the process.

Yet immediately following her comment, the Heartless stood up and threw a very fast punch toward her. Its fist still having a thick layer of Light around it, but Sora attempted to block it with her Keyblade. Of which caused a surge of pain through her body before she was sent tumbling backward. 'Okay...so it hurts even if I don't come into direct contact with it...good to know.' she thought to herself with a wince as she stood herself up once more, it being much easier than last time.

Sora not actually appearing injured as she seemed to shake off the effects a lot quicker. But just as she was ready to make her own attack at the Heartless, she paused when hearing a voice calling out from the side. "Stay away you monster!"

After turning to look at the owner of this voice, everyone blinked many times when seeing Aurther rushing toward Sora. Him moving himself directly in front of the teen with arms outstretched in a protective stance. "I don't know what you are, but you'll have to go through me first!" he continued in a brave tone.

Yet despite this, his body was trembling in absolute terror. Him knowing that he was likely going to die against such a creature, but he still refused to back down and let someone get hurt. "I'll distract him, you get away as fast as you can." he said to Sora before gulping down nervously.

The brown-haired girl just blinked many times to this before smiling and giggling softly. "Guess you took my words a bit more literally." she hummed out as the Heartless swung its fist down toward Aurther.

Whom brought his arms in front of his face and closed his eyes, him knowing this would be the end for him. But when no impact came, he cracked his eyes open and just gazed in shock and amazement when he saw Sora in her Valor form. Her using a single hand to not only stop the Heartless' fist, but also force the Light itself to surge out and away from them. She then glanced to the boy from over her shoulder as she offered another smile; "But you did sound and look pretty cool just now." she hummed out with a quick wink.

* * *

 **And there you go, that last scene was one I kept imagining when thinking of Sora in this world. And now I finally got it to happen. XD Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed and will let me know what you thought. Until next time.**


	54. Dark Age England part IV

**Sorry that I've been pretty much late for all of these chapters, a lot of things have gotten in the way. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one. ;)**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 53: Dark Age England part VI

Sora slowly glanced over her shoulder to Aurther, whom stumbled backward before falling onto his rear. Him just appearing completely mesmerized by the girl as her now glowing red hair, was flaring around her like so many embers within a flame. Yet she just gave the boy a small smile and spoke with a quick wink at the end. "But you did sound and look pretty cool just now."

Soon after her words, Sora turned her now narrowed gaze back to the Heartless. The Light around its fist was still pushing against her, but it was to no avail as the energy was forced in nearly every other direction. Though the teen only glanced to this for a brief moment, she still noticed that it was mainly her crimson aura that was keeping the Light back. "Huh...neat." she whispered silently before pushing the Heartless' hand to the side with a simple swipe of her hand.

Immediately following this, the large beast stumbled backward slightly. The energy around its fist having vanished after the girl's action, to which the creature then lifted its other hand up and over its head. A huge sphere of Light starting to generate over its palm and continued to grow by the second. It being clear to everyone that this attack was going to be much larger in scale compared to its previous strikes. "Looks like it knows to use 'area-of-effect' attacks when in a possible pinch." Sora muttered silently to herself, obviously quite impressed.

This serving to deepen her interest in the Heartless, but even more so in the orb currently inside of its chest. But she then took on a small smirk before almost seeming to disappear for a split second. Her then returning back to nearly the same spot, only a step or two to her right side. Along with this difference, she was now holding both Keyblades in either hand, of which were in a reverse grip. However, for Namine and Maleficent, they still noticed a blur of red and black circling around the Heartless multiple times in the split second had Sora vanished.

Yet a brief moment after Sora reappeared, indents started showing up all across the creature's form. These seeming to to just appear one after another until there were almost a thousand visible on its body. Instantly following this, the Heartless began violently snapping in multiple directions as if finally feeling the strikes that made these indents. In the process, the ball of Light disbursed harmlessly as the beast's concentration was broken.

"This thing is pretty tough." Sora muttered silently as she watched the Heartless finally fall to the ground once the aftershocks came to an end.

All the while, a lightning bolt began generating above the Heartless. But it quickly vanished with a snap of Namine's fingers, her able to break the spell she and Sora made before it could activate again. The blond then let out a heavy breath as she regretted suggesting the spell in the first place. Despite its utility and the fact that no one could have predicted this, it still severely backfired in this situation. Though she didn't think too hard on this as she looked to Sora in a thoughtful manner. Yet the question she was asking herself, was one Maleficent had already been thinking about.

'How did Sora deflect the Light energy to save that boy?'

Of course, Sora herself didn't bother with this question as she was too focused on the fight. The girl then moved into a more battle-ready pose, all while taking on a small grin. "I guess it's time I get a little more serious." she whispered as the red aura around her began to expand.

Immediately after this, the teen became a blur that even Maleficent found difficult to follow. Yet it was still enough for her to see that Sora's new target was the orb within the Heartless' chest. Upon hitting it with one of her Keyblades, Sora watched as sparks flew off the sphere's smooth surface. The sound of metal hitting glass filling the courtyard, but it almost didn't seem to reach any further. Though as Sora swung her second Keyblade down, the creature started to pick itself up. Due to the sheer force of her strike however, the Heartless just slumped back down. It being unable to get up at all as the brown-haired teen then began swinging her weapons down on the sphere in rapid succession.

As the creature lay there, simply enduring these hits, it slowly started to glow. This light being a mixture of white, yellow and red, obviously being a combination of the powers the Heartless had absorbed thus far. Even after seeing this, Sora just kept striking without any delay as the very ground was starting to rumble and shake. Something of which started to worry Namine, her knowing that while she might be able to protect the castle from the attack, yet she couldn't do anything to help Sora. But at the same time, all of the commotion going on was without a doubt going to attract Merlin's attention.

Though, as the Darkside's glow reached its brightest threshold, everyone either had to shield or close their eyes to keep from being blinded. Yet the blond girl brought her hands out in order to cast her protective magic as she couldn't take a chance anymore. "Refle-" she started, but was cut off when the echoing sound of a crack was heard.

Instantly following it, the light literally seemed to just 'turn off'. Allowing everyone to slowly crack their eyes open to see what was going on. Each of them then blinking a bit upon witnessing the Heartless shrinking down to become a normal Shadow. Along with this, the orb had become a fist-sized ball and rolled away from the creature it had been attached to. There now being a large crack within the sphere, yet it still appeared to be mostly intact despite this.

"Well...that went well. I just had to hit it really hard." Sora commented with an almost proud tone as most of the others just sighed silently, though they soon noticed that she was now in her normal form.

This leading for both Namine and Maleficent to wonder if there was more to the teen's victory than simply hitting the orb harder. But the blond just came closer toward the girl with another, yet more brief sigh. "It was pretty risky just continuing to attack it like that."

"What if you didn't break the orb when you did? This whole castle might have been destroyed." she continued, glancing down to the small Heartless as it actually appeared to be unconscious.

"Well...I was confident you would have been able to contain the blast." Sora responded, giving a grin along with these words.

While the blond slowly nodded, she then let out a silent huff and delivered a pout toward her friend.. "Well...I'm glad you have so much faith in me. But just make sure that it's not only for times of danger like this." she said as a somewhat tired smile curled her lips.

"Of course." Sora said, giving a smile of her own before looking over to Aurther.

Whom was still just sitting on the ground gazing at Sora, his expression being one of pure awe. "Amazing..." he whispered, his eyes almost shining from being completely mystified by the girl.

"Thanks. But more importantly...are you okay?" Sora questioned as she walked toward the boy and reached out a hand to help him up.

"Y-Yeah..." Aurther responded, slowly taking this offered hand.

"I don't mean to demean your intentions or anything, but why did you rush out here like that? It was really dangerous." the brown-haired teen asked, lifting him back to his feet before releasing his hand.

"W-Well...it seemed like the right thing to do. P-Plus...I never got your name." was all the boy could think to say as he was still a bit dazed from everything he saw.

"Oh...well my name is Sora. What's yours?" the girl introduced, a grin curling her lips as she was now in 'friend-making mode'.

"I-I'm War-I mean, Aurther...Aurther Pendragon." was his response, almost saying something by mistake, or possibly out of habit.

"Aw man...that's a really cool name. It's nice to meet you Aurther." Sora said with a wider grin, yet it just made Aurther himself flush slightly.

After this introduction, the brown-haired girl then briefly glanced to the side. Her immediately returning to the situation at hand, reminding her that it wouldn't be a good idea to stick around for much longer. "Unfortunately...I actually have to get going, but I'll see if I can stop by again sometime. Alright?" she said, offering the boy a small smile and a wave of her hand.

"A-Alright." was all Aurther managed out before Sora vanished together with Maleficent and Namine.

Strangely enough though, the Heartless and orb had already seemed to have disappeared before then. The only indication that a battle even occurred was the magical residue in the air, yet it too dissipated in a matter of seconds. This just leaving the boy in a state of shock while he looked around, to which Merlin came walking up after a few moments. "What are you doing out here? I thought you were heading off to bed." the old wizard commented with a curious tone.

"Merlin...I just met the most amazing and brave person I've ever seen!" Aurther called out, his child-like excitement showing through.

All the while, Sora let out a heavy breath as she looked over to the other two. Maleficent having been the one to get them out of there since she likely noticed Merlin's approach. Her teleporting them onto the Northern most patrol path, directly atop of the castle walls. The brown-haired teen then peaked over the edge of wooden walkway in order to see the two in the courtyard. Yet he then moved back once more and gave to two a quick shake of her head. Them simply waiting for Merlin and Aurther to continue their conversation inside, before finally coming out of the shadows.

Upon doing so, Sora then let out a sigh and simply hopped over the castle wall and onto the ground outside. Once she landed, the girl then moved to the side as the other two as they followed her lead. After taking a moment to move away from the castle, they finally let out a breath of relief. Them knowing that if Merlin didn't show up by now, then he didn't notice anything about their arrival. Though it then sparked Sora to turn to Maleficent with a huff. "And where you during that whole thing?" she demanded, her unconsciously pouting slightly while doing so.

Said witch raised a brow and just chuckled lightly; "I was busy making sure that Merlin didn't sense any of the magic, hear any of the sounds, or feel any of the quakes caused from your reckless fight." she answered back in a somewhat condescending tone, as if knowing she was the only one who could do such a thing.

Even though Namine wanted to finally start her accusation of the woman, she suddenly found herself a bit speechless. As not only did Maleficent save them from being discovered, she also heeded the warnings of their mission far more so than she and Sora did. Something of the witch likely knew as she threw the blond a rather vain glance. Though, Namine simply narrowed her eyes as she decided that she wasn't going to wait any longer to bring up her allegations toward the woman. "And what do you plan to do with the Heartless and that orb?" she questioned while crossing her arms in a firm manner.

"I know you took them when Sora was talking to Aurther, so there is no use in denying it." the girl continued as her eyes narrowed a bit further.

"Oh~?" Maleficent hummed out as she just smirked softly, not even appearing to care that she was caught.

"Well if you must know...I plan to do something very special with them." she continued after a few brief, yet tense moments passed between her and the blond.

Namine herself opening her mouth as if to continue her interrogation, but she instantly paused when another enormous wave of pure energy rolled toward them from the North. The three tensing up for a moment as it came closer, but as it continued on and over the castle, they knew the Heartless must have been the target once more. "Well, at least this confirms our next destination." Maleficent claimed with a small smirk, as if pretending that she wasn't just accused of plotting against the two teens.

However, before the blond could say anything in retort, Sora spoke up first. "True...and now that we've also taken care of the strongest Heartless, I think we can leave the castle to Merlin."

After these words, Namine turned to her in shock and a bit of panic. Her feeling as though she lost the chance to convince Sora of the witch's treachery. But just as the other two were about to continue on their way, she clenched both hands into fists and spoke out in a tone that demanded their attention. "We can't let Maleficent continue with us!" she stated in a firm manner.

Upon these words, Sora turned to her with a blinking gaze in obvious confusion. But the other girl simply kept going as Maleficent merely raised a brow in what could only be described as annoyance. "She's obviously up to something. The fact that the door here practically looked like it was made by her couldn't be a coincidence." Namine claimed as she turned her gaze toward the witch.

"Plus with how she always seems to be more knowledgeable than she lets on, is very suspicious. I mean, she was the one whom lead us to the library. And it was a direct path there, she didn't make any mistakes in getting us there at all." the blond continued, the look in her eyes appearing more and more accusing, as well as desperate.

"And now she has both the Heartless and the orb, which gave us so much trouble. So...I just can't travel with her knowing that she's up to something and probably leading us into a trap!" she finished, taking in and letting out a few heavy breaths afterward.

With a few seconds passing between the three, Sora actually just glanced to Maleficent briefly before the two ended up laughing in unison. This making Namine blink many times in confusion while looking between the two multiple times. Yet the brown-haired girl eventually waved a hand and offered a small smile to the other teen. "It's alright Namine, I've known she's been up to something since the second she walk through the doors in Mickey's castle." she stated with a shrug of her shoulders.

"I'm always suspicious of Maleficent...that's basically our whole 'bond' as teacher and student." Sora continued, glancing over to the witch while doing so.

"We might appear like we're friends, but we know one another more than just about anyone else. So there is no way I'd let my guard down around her." she claimed before turning back to Namine with a soft smile.

"We simply have a mutual understanding that there will be times that we need one another for something. Whether it's for good or bad...is all up to how well we can work around the other's deal." the girl finished, offering a reassuring wink to the blond.

All the while, Maleficent merely chuckled and nodded her head in agreement to these words. "Indeed, the moment you stopped being wary of my every move, or stopped being useful to me...will be the time that I finally decide to kill you." she said in a simple, yet very threatening manner.

Following this exchange, Sora and Maleficent just laughed once more. Them actually seeming to be fine with such a strange arrangement, which just increased Namine's confusion. The only thought on her mind right now being; 'What a strange and complicated relationship they have.'

* * *

 **That's putting it mildly, but who knows how things might evolve in the future. ;) Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter and will let me know what you thought. Until next time.**


	55. Dark Age England part V

**Sorry that this is so late. I got a new job, which came with a new schedule for days and hours. So my updates might end up going back to once every two weeks, at least for a little while until I get used to this new job. Anyway, I hope all of you are still there and will enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 54: Dark Age England part V

"Are you sure about this?" Namine questioned as she, Sora and Maleficent were casually walking across the hilly fields outside of the castle.

Them making their way north, yet all that was seen for as far as their eyes could see, was simply more meadows and hills. Though, the brown-haired girl slowly glanced over to the other teen and gave a small smile. "I know that our mission has basically been accomplished. Now that we beat the main Heartless, we can leave the rest to Merlin. But...there is still more I wanna know about this world." Sora answered, shrugging her shoulders in the process.

"More specifically...why the door leads here, and what is creating those waves of energy." Namine whispered, to which the other girl slowly nodded her head in response.

"I'm curious about all that too, but we both know 'she' is definitely behind at least one of those. Meaning we're willingly walking into whatever trap she has up her sleeve." the blond continued while briefly looking toward Maleficent, whom was walking ahead of them.

After these words, Sora tilted her head up in thought while they kept walking, to which she let out a soft hum. "I suppose, but in all honesty..." the brown-haired teen started, to which she slowly turned to her friend.

"...I kinda wanna see what the trap is." she said, sending a glance over to Maleficent as well.

"There are so many things we don't know about her plan. Plus, if it involves bringing us here to fulfill a role, then it means we have a much greater opportunity to stop her." Sora added, shrugging once more.

Though Namine raised a brow, she slowly shifted her gaze toward the witch in question. Whom she knew was listening in to all of this, yet was simply continuing on her way without pause. This making the blond wonder if Maleficent had already lead them into accomplishing the mission she needed them for. But as she glanced back to Sora and the girl's small smile, she slowly let out a breath and nodded her head in response.

"Alright...I guess it would be in our best interest to find out her plan since we can't exactly do anything to stop her without drawing attention to ourselves." Namine hummed out softly, offering a smile of her own to the other teen.

Said girl took on a grin as she then nodded and patted the blond gently on the shoulder. Them sharing a brief moment together before Maleficent finally spoke up; "Are you two done back there?" she hummed out, not even turning to look at them.

"Maybe...maybe not." Sora claimed as she took on a more playful grin.

"Perhaps we could still talk a bit more about your dastardly deeds and plan out how we'll foil them this time." she continued, chuckling softly while crossing her arms across her chest.

"Oh~? Is that so~?" the witch questioned, finally glancing over to the pair with a raised brow.

"Yep~!" Sora announced proudly, making Namine smile a little more.

"We'll see about that." Maleficent started while smirking confidently.

"While I won't revealing my plans just yet, I have a feeling you might like what I have in store." she continued, the woman's tone matching her expression.

However, her words had caused the two teens to blink a few times in surprise. Though they gazed at the woman in suspicion, the group had continued on their way regardless. During this trip, Sora started to get slower and slower as she groaned silently after a while. Her noises eventually lead for both Namine and the witch to glance back at her, which signaled the brown-haired teen to voice her complaints. "Isn't there a better way to travel? This is so exhausting." she half stated, half whined.

"Aren't you abnormally strong and fast?" the blond spoke up in a confused tone while tilting her head to the side.

"How do you get so tired from walking a short distance?" she continued, them not even traveling for an hour thus far.

Sora blinked to these words, to which she then shrugged both shoulders. "It's not so much that it physically tires me out, it's that it's so...boring." she responded with a light pout at the end.

Despite almost falling over from the absurdness of this claim, Namine cleared her throat and just nodded her head slowly. "I-I guess that makes a bit of sense." she commented silently, still not appearing convinced.

"Hmph...even after all that I've taught you...your attention span is still so short." Maleficent muttered with a sigh, to which she actually stopped and turned to the other two.

"Aw come on, you taught me so many things that it would be next to impossible to remember anything specific. It's like trying to recall a dream, days after actually having it." Sora said quickly, placing both hands on her hips.

"Perhaps...but the knowledge is still there, meaning you have the capacity to still utilize it. You merely need something to make you remember...c'est aussi simple que ça." Maleficent said with a small grin curling her lips at the end, as if knowing something would happen.

"Ce n'est pas." Sora responded, yet she soon blinked a few times as if shocked from her seemingly automatic answer.

"Was...Was that, French?" Namine questioned as she shifted her gaze between the two.

"Indeed...it was one of the five languages I taught you." the witch claimed, a rather conceded expression being seen on her features.

"My point is, if you have something to stimulate those memories...you'll slowly start remembering things." Maleficent finished in a matter-of-fact manner.

A few moments after these words, Sora tilted her head down in thought as she tapped her chin. "So...are you saying you taught me a spell that could make this whole trip much faster?" she questioned with a somewhat doubtful gaze.

"Are you assuming I didn't?" was all the woman asked back while raising a brow.

"No...but it would beg the question of; 'why didn't you bring it up in the first place?'" Sora stated in a huff, crossing both arms across her chest.

"And why would I? I don't mind the walk." Maleficent claimed, taking on a somewhat smug smirk.

This made the brown-haired teen huff in response as she should have known that would be her answer. Yet she just let out a breath and glanced to the side; "Fine...so what spell would help this go faster?" she huffed out, still not looking in the woman's direction while doing so.

It being clear that she didn't want to have to request help from Maleficent, especially not when she was being so cocky about everything. The 'why' being revealed almost instantly as the witch spoke up in an even more condescending way than normal. "Oh dear me...what ever could you be talking about?" she hummed silently, tilting her head up in thought.

Even Maleficent's expression was overly dramatic in its 'troubled' appearance, making both teens sigh and roll their eyes. "Hmm, so hard to recall." the woman continued, placing a hand over her face to further her act.

Sora groaned and grumbled to herself as she knew what she had to do in order to make this charade end. However, it was still something she didn't like doing; 'If there was anything I remembered from that year with her...it was 'that'.' she thought to herself with a grimace.

"Alright alright...you win." the brown-haired girl spoke after a few moments, to which she cleared her throat.

"Please, Mistress of all Evil...will you teach your apprentice what you know?" she continued, looking down in utter embarrassment as she bowed.

Immediately following this, Namine just gazed to the scene in shock. It leaving the girl speechless as she could only blink in shock, and a bit of confusion. All the while, Maleficent herself was just grinning in response while seeming to be holding back a laugh. Though she restrained herself, the witch wiped away a fake tear from her eye. "I never get tired of that." she hummed out with a nod in acceptance.

"Very well then...the spell you're looking for is called; 'Levitation mirror'." Maleficent started while tapping the ground with her staff.

Instantly afterwards, a shimmer was seen under the woman's feet as she slowly began rising into the air. There being what looked to be a circular sheet of glass under her, which was almost invisible to the naked eye. "The only limitation on how fast you can fly, is how well you can hang on." the witch explained in a simple manner, yet she still sounded a bit smug regardless.

Sora gazed at this spell with an excited expression, her clearly eager at the possibility of riding around on such a thing. Yet she tapped her chin a few times and tilted her head to the side curiously; "Though...why 'mirror'? Why not 'glass'? Or 'disk'." she muttered silently, shrugging her shoulders in the process.

A brief moment after these words, Maleficent took on an amused smirk. Despite it appearing to be genuine, she cleared her throat quickly and removed this from her features. "It's simply how it was named upon creation." was all she responded with.

The brown-haired teen blinked a few times, to which she tilted her head to the opposite side. 'Talk about deja vu. I wonder if 'that's' what I said about the spell the first time. Or maybe...it's also what she said about it.' she mused before looking to the disk underneath Maleficent's feet.

"So what kind of magic do I use?" Sora questioned, a thoughtful gaze appearing on her face.

"I'm guessing that if the spell is meant for levitation, then the actual 'mirror' part is made from the same type of magic that Reflect spells are created from. They're durable and can withstand quite a bit of weight." she continued, not even waiting for the witch to answer.

Namine glanced between the two for a moment before down at the 'mirror', to which she then placed a finger and thumb to her chin. "More than likely...but then that leaves the question for what is used for the actual levitation." the blond commented silently, her own expression being similar to that of her friend's.

"Hmm...I'm thinking Magnet...maybe Gravity...or possibly a mixture of both?" she added, all while carefully examining the disk.

"No...I think it's simpler than that." Sora started, her eyes never leaving the 'glass' under Maleficent's feet.

"The spell itself is categorized under the first tier, which means that it will only ever combine two separate spells. Only second tier magic and higher combines more than two kinds of magic together." the girl continued while nodding slowly at her own words.

"So the other kind of magic involved would be Aero." she finished, yet the look on her face never changed.

This showing she had yet to realize that she was remembering what Maleficent taught her about the spell. But after taking notice of the witch's smile and Namine's blinking gaze, she then understood that the knowledge was indeed coming back to her. "Huh...that was kinda weird, yet cool at the same time." she muttered with a light chuckle escaping her lips.

"Guess I'll give it a shot." the teen added before closing her eyes and tapping the tip of her left boot on the ground.

Though nothing happened at first, a large disk suddenly formed under both her and Namine's feet. This slowly lifting them into the air as they were now even with Maleficent, whom had risen about a meter over the top of the grassy plane. "Well done, especially since this is technically the first time you've used the spell." the woman said with a nod of her head in satisfaction.

Sora slowly opened her eyes and gave a smile in response, to which she looked to Namine with a wink. "Hold onto the edge." she whispered as her gaze focused in the direction they had been heading.

Following this warning, the blond knelt down and grasped onto the 'glass' at the front. Immediately after her actions, the disk flew off at great speed. It jerking them back for a moment, yet they quickly adjusted to the wind and velocity. Meanwhile, Maleficent was coming up right behind them as she allowed Sora to set the pace. "Not bad Sora...but lets see if everything I planted in your memories will arise with such ease." the witch muttered as she took on an evil smile.

* * *

 **A little hint for what is to come, but for now...just know that Sora learned quite a bit during that year alone with Maleficent in her mind. And who knows just what else could be waiting to be rediscovered in that head of hers. ;) Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed...if you're still around. Until next time everyone.**


	56. Dark Age England part VI

**Man, I almost didn't get this done...even with two weeks. My new schedule is a lot more brutal than I expected, but I'll be able to handle an update every other week. Anyway, on to the chapter.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 55: Dark Age England part VI

As the three came closer to a large city, each of them immediately recognized it as London. But while Maleficent knew it by appearance alone, the other two simply knew from the sign just outside. Which said in large letters; 'Welcome to London'. After seeing this, Sora and the witch slowed down their flight before lowering the disks to the earth. This allowing all of them to step down and onto the ground, to which they looked out toward the city ahead.

"Well then, I guess we should look around for any clues to find out where the waves are originating from." the brown-haired teen hummed out silently, her glancing to the other two for a moment.

"With any luck, they're coming from this town and not any further North." she continued as the trio moved into the city.

"I guess we should head to a library to avoid being noticed by anyone, or..." Namine commented with a thoughtful gaze, yet she slowly turned toward Maleficent.

"...maybe we can just ask her where to go since she obviously knows who or what it is we're looking for." the blond hummed out, crossing both arms across her chest.

The witch simply chuckled lightly as she shifted her gaze to the side; "Now what fun would that be? Besides..." she started before turning back to the two teens.

"...it's more rewarding to find things on your own, isn't it?" Maleficent continued, a snake-like smile tugging at her lips.

"That sounds a bit hypocritical. After all, you were the one whom lead us to that castle's library for the information we needed." Namine claimed as her eyes narrowed slightly on the woman.

Whom had chuckled once more, to which her smile widened slightly in the process. "Well...I did want to make it as easy as possible, especially since I wasn't sure if either of you would find the right documents in the first place." she began, shrugging her shoulders for a brief moment.

"But I suppose I should have known Sora would get distracted with books about knighthood in the library." she finished in a highly amused tone, her gaze shifting fully toward the brown-haired teen.

Said girl blinked a few times and flushed slightly, to which even Namine looked at her with a raised brow. "T-They were right in front of me, I couldn't not read them...at least for a little bit." she stuttered out with a sheepish expression and a nervous gulp.

Though Namine let out a heavy sigh, she waved a hand to the other teen. "It's fine. I've seen a lot of your memories, so I know about your past dreams of being a knight...and a pirate...and an astronaut." the blond said, letting out a soft giggle at the end.

"Well...I suppose you've kinda dreamt about being just about everything at some point...even a beach bum." she continued, which caused Sora herself to blush a bit more.

"Th-That one was just because I spent so much time on the beach. And I figured it would be...fitting...ya know?" the brown-haired girl explained, yet her flushed cheeks seemed to keep getting redder with each passing word.

After this however, Sora swiftly turned to the side to hide her face while walking slightly faster. "A-Anyway, we should get a move on." she said quickly, marching forward in the process.

Despite their obvious dislike toward one another, Maleficent and Namine shared an amused smile at the teen before following after her. Said girl had briefly glanced over to the pair, as if to make sure they were still behind her. Yet with immediate confirmation, she faced forward once more. However, in the process, she noticed something just to her right side and paused in her steps. There being a church near the middle of town with a small courtyard in front of it. But the thing that drew her attention was a sword sticking out of an anvil in the middle of this open area.

As Namine walked up beside the brown-haired teen, she slowly followed her gaze and blinked a few times. "What's that?" she whispered upon seeing the sword.

Without even looking, Maleficent simply smirked at the pair as she came up behind them; "Why, 'that' is Excalibur." she answered, shifting her own eyes to the blade sticking out of the stone.

Immediately following her words, the pair turned to the witch and raised a suspicious brow in response. "I'm guessing it's the reason why we're here?" Sora asked with a slight tilt of her head.

"Indeed." was all Maleficent said as she started walking toward the church.

"And you were going to have us walk all the way to the library when it was right there?" the brown-haired teen huffed out, her pouting and gesturing to Excalibur.

Following this question, the witch simply laughed and looked to the girl in amusement. "I have to find my entertainment somehow." she answered, yet just kept heading to her destination.

Despite sighing, the teens then rushed up to the woman's sides and matched her pace. Maleficent herself then continuing on as they moved pass a few stray people whom didn't take any notice of them. "Excalibur is an ancient weapon, forged for the sake of one thing."

"And what is that?" Namine questioned while glancing from the sword, to the witch.

"To combat the Keyblade." the woman claimed, causing both the blond and Sora to pause and look at her in shock.

Yet since Maleficent didn't stop walking, they quickly had to take a few rushed steps in order to catch up once more. "Well...more specifically, to combat Keyblade wielders whom had fallen to the darkness." the witch clarified with a chuckle, knowing that her previous words must have surprised them a great deal.

"But after it was 'retired', the sword was placed here under the pretense that it belonged to the future King of this country." she furthered in a clearly amused tone.

"Of course, no one really believed it could be released from this stone as only beings with a pure heart can even lift it from the ground. So there really isn't a single being, outside of the Princesses of Heart whom could actually pull this sword out." Maleficent explained, her briefly glancing to Namine from over her shoulder.

"Or so the tales say." the woman added as her eyes shifted back to the weapon.

"So are those pulses coming from Excalibur?" Sora asked as they each arrived in the courtyard and encircled the sword in the stone.

"Indeed. When it's dormant like this, it creates an automatic barrier that repels most forms of darkness. Not all of course, but for things like the Heartless and Nobodies...they're instantly destroyed." the witch answered, looking down to the blade as it actually seems to be glowing slightly.

"However, unlike the Keyblade...which depends on the wielder's strength of how strong it is...Excalibur has a base power, regardless of its wielder. So while it can't ever grow any stronger, it also never gets weaker." she continued, taking on a confident smirk on her features.

This expression widening slightly when Sora made her next inquiry; "And what is that 'base power'?"

"It's just as great as the strongest Keyblade wielders in history." was all the woman answered, her gazing down at Sora as the teen just stared at Excalibur, mesmerized.

"So...your plan is to have one of us wield the sword? But why? What do you get out of it?" Namine questioned in a confused, yet suspicious tone.

Maleficent turned toward her slowly, to which she then just took on a small smirk and shrugged both shoulders. "As I said before...it's more rewarding to find things on your own." she claimed silently, letting out a soft chuckle afterwards.

Despite the blond narrowing her eyes slightly and turning to Sora, said brown-haired girl still appeared to be fixated on the sword. But before she could speak to her friend, Maleficent did so first. "You're seeing the benefits of having it, aren't you?" the witch whispered, moving beside the brown-haired girl.

"I know more than anyone how much anger has been festering inside of your mind." she continued, placing a hand on Sora's shoulder and whispering her next words into the teen's ear.

"Even after hearing that they're all alive, doesn't forgive what 'he' did to them. You still want him to pay for all that he's done to you and your friends. So take the sword...and exact your revenge." she urged silently as the girl slowly reached her hand out towards Excalibur's grip.

Upon touching it, the blade's glow began to dull slightly as Sora wrapped her fingers around hilt. While watching this, Namine's gaze to the other teen basically asked if she thought this was truly the right thing to do. Yet the brown-haired girl just closed her eyes and began to pull the sword upward, it moving with ease as she did so. However, Sora suddenly paused just as a little more than half of the weapon was visible, to which she reopened her eyes slowly.

"This world is in the Realm of Darkness in present day, isn't it?" she suddenly questioned, causing both Namine and Maleficent to look at her in a bit of shock.

Though, the latter of these two slowly smirked and nodded her head. "That it is. As I'm sure you have guessed, once someone pulls this sword out...it will no longer be dormant. And if that person does not know how to use its power, this world will fall to darkness." the witch explained with a brief shrug of her shoulders.

"So by that logic...someone had pulled the sword out and couldn't do anything to stop the darkness." Sora whispered as her eyes narrowed.

"Exactly...so what does it matter if you take it now? This world is already lost in the present, so why not get something useful from it while it's still here?" Maleficent continued, her not even trying to hide the manipulation in her tone.

"Just think of how many more lives you can save with its power." she added silently, her smirk growing as if knowing what the girl's decision would be.

After these words however, Namine walked up to Sora's side and placed a hand over her friend's as it was still gripping the weapon's hilt. This lead for the brown-haired teen to turn her gaze to the blond and blink a few times. Yet before she could say anything, Namine just offered a soft smile and shook her head slowly. "You know what you should do...even if it's the harder choice." was all she whispered as Sora looked from the other girl, to Excalibur.

"Yeah...I guess so." she whispered, yet before doing anything further, she paused once more.

With a few quick seconds passing, Sora just smiled and pushed the sword back into the stone. Though her hand lingered on the grip for a brief moment, she released it and glanced between the two. "Even if something is lost, it's never gone forever." she said silently, to which Namine gave a nodding smile.

All the while, Maleficent merely sighed and shrugged, yet it seemed as though she was actually satisfied with this result. "Well then, I suppose we should get back to the present." the woman stated, looking to the direction they came from.

"I guess we should." Sora muttered with a shrug of her shoulders.

This lead for Namine to glance to her friend with a raised brow, as she was expecting some sort of complaint about having to go all the way back. But she blinked a few times when the brown-haired girl just took both her and Maleficent's hands. In an instant, they were suddenly right back at the forest line as Sora looked at the two with a smile. "I made sure to place a mark here, just in case we had to travel a far distance...or if we were caught." the teen explained as her smile turned a bit sheepish, to which the other two nodded in response.

Them actually doing the same thing as their own teleportation markings were directly beside the one Sora had made herself. After moving toward the doors, the brown-haired girl pulled them open and allowed other other two to through first. When it came time for Sora to go, she paused and glanced over her shoulder to the area she was leaving behind. "I hope I can keep my promise." were her last words before going through the doors, to which they automatically shut behind her.

Immediately afterwards, these doors suddenly began to glow a bright white color before disappearing in a shimmer of magic. Meanwhile, once the three appeared on the other side and back into Castle Oblivion, the same happened to those doors as well. The teens blinked a few times to this, but accepted that the magic holding the passageway in place was either dismissed or simply used up. However, it lead for them to look at Maleficent once more as they knew she was the one whom made the doors somehow.

"So you made a door to that world's past before it was swallowed up by the darkness. But I can't imagine that everything we did there was all you had done or wished to accomplish." Sora stated, slowly crossing her arms and raising a brow.

"Indeed not." was the only thing Maleficent responded with as she took on a small smirk.

After a few moments of silence, the witch quickly knew that neither teen was going to be satisfied with her answer. This made her sigh silently and shrug in exasperation; "Very well...if you really want to know about what I was up to, I'd suggest you ask Merlin about a certain incident a long time ago." she continued, turning toward the exit and started making her way in this direction.

"And what incident is that?" Namine called out, her tone being full of suspicion.

Maleficent just chuckled and paused in her steps, the woman slowly glancing to the pair from over her shoulder while answering. "The Keyblade War."

* * *

 **And there we have it, some pretty heavy stuff is gonna be dropped...so prepare yourselves. Also, I know that the pacing for the end felt pretty rushed, but there really wasn't much else I could do with it unfortunately. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next one. Until next time.**


	57. Hollow Bastion part V

**Sorry this is a day late, I had everything done yesterday...I just didn't have a way to upload it after my internet went down. Curse you reckless drivers~! Anyway, I hope all of you enjoy the chapter. ;)**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 56: Hollow Bastion part V

"So...this is the place, huh?" Kairi hummed out silently as she stood beside Sora, Riku and Namine.

Each of them gazing up at a large structure that appeared to be an old and decaying castle. There being missing segments of the walls, roof and even some areas on the floor. However, the most odd things about it were the varying sized yellow pipes coming through, or running along the walls. But while looking around for an entrance, they found that the only way inside was a path that lead to the side of the castle's back.

"From what Maleficent said, yeah." Sora answered, to which she then took on a pose and expression that appeared almost overly confident.

This exaggerating Maleficent's typical mannerisms as the brown-haired teen cleared her throat and spoke up once more. "As for your friend...the last I saw of him, he had made his way inside of the castle once owned by Ansem the Wise in Hollow Bastion." she said in a tone that sounded a little 'over the top', even for the witch she was emulating.

"Since he never left from what I've observed, I believe he's likely found his way to the computer room." the teen continued, her still having inflated idiosyncrasies as Maleficent.

Kairi chuckled softly to this as she found her friend's 'imitation' to be quite funny. Riku raised a brow to Sora for a moment, yet he slowly took on a rather amused smirk as he turned back toward the entrance. Meanwhile, Namine glanced to the brown-haired girl with a slight tilt of her head; "You did that almost too well." she muttered in false suspicion before giggling softly.

Though, her features soon changed to a thoughtful one as she tilted her head slightly upward. "But it's a little weird that she made the clear distinction of saying it was 'Ansem the Wise's' castle." she commented silently, shifting her eyes toward the others.

"It is kinda strange. But since the only other 'Ansem' we've encountered was the guy that almost brought all the worlds to darkness...it makes sense she would need to make a proper distinction." Sora suggested as she shrugged both shoulders.

"That's possible, it would make it easier to potentially meet whomever this 'other Ansem' is." the blond said, nodding her head in agreement to Sora's words.

"True." the brown-haired teen uttered, yet as the group moved into the castle, she went a bit silent.

"Something bothering you?" Kairi asked while raising a brow in curiosity.

Sora looked to her friend with a shrug before letting out a silent breath; "It's just...Maleficent did mention that she was going to have a few people meet us here and show us where to go. But we haven't seen anyone yet, and any ally of hers probably won't be an ally to us." she answered, her tone showing an obvious sense of suspicion.

Kairi blinked a few times for a moment, before she then glanced around with a perceptive gaze. The girl also not taking any chances after considering her friend's words. However, as they wandered through the large halls, the four started finding themselves going around in circles. The castle feeling like a maze, as there were few or no discernible features for the decaying hallways. "Guys...try not to panic..." Riku started, him being at the head of their group.

"...but I think Sora got us lost." he finished, causing the brown-haired girl to blink and huff in response.

"Did not...you're the one leading!" Sora declared, puffing her cheeks out slightly afterwards.

"I believe it." Kairi commented in an amused tone, taking on a teasing grin as she looked to Sora.

Said girl pouting all the more as she had a false expression of betrayal; "Aw~! Now you're both just being mean~!" she whined out.

Though Namine giggled softly to this, she didn't actually say or add anything. Her simply being content with watching the three friends interacting with one another. Yet after a few moments, she quickly turned to the side when a trio of foot steps were heard coming from a short stairway not far from them. This immediately silenced the group as they readied themselves for a possible fight, to which they summoned their weapons in an instant.

As the foot steps came closer and closer, the more on edge they became as they could also see a distorted shadow on the opposite wall. It looking like a strange three headed creature that had a very disproportionate, as well as bizarrely-shaped body. Once the being came into view, it revealed to be three separate people. All of whom were instantly recognized by the four as their eyes widened in surprise.

"Ugh, this is exactly why I said we should bring a map." one commented in an annoyed tone.

"But you also said that we should be fine traversing through the castle regardless." another one responded, them being a bit more calm.

"Ha ha! You got us totally lost!" the last called out in amusement.

"Yuna..Rikku..Paine?" Sora gasped out as the trio quickly turned toward her, and by extension, the rest of the group.

Yuna had one green and one blue eye, while having a build that resembled Sora's own. Another thing they shared was their hair color, though Yuna's appeared to be a bit lighter. Her locks were also much shorter as it looked a great deal similar to what Tidus' was, save for a red braid that stretched down to her ankles. She also had a beaded earring and silver pendant, something that Yuna got the moment she was allowed to. The girl donned a modified halter-neck top and a pink hood, as well as yellow armbands over her biceps and a black bracelet on her left wrist. Yuna also sported a pair of denim shorts that had an ankle-length, blue and white half-skirt that covered most of her left leg. Over this garment, was a brown pouch resting on her hip, which was buckled at an angle around her waist. The last piece of clothing were her black, knee-high boots that were laced with white string.

Rikku had green eyes, a more athletic build compared to the others, and medium-length blonde hair. Of which was set up in a high ponytail, along with two braids that hung down over both shoulders, and was even decorated with orange feathers. There were a pair of crisscrossing bobby pins visible on the left side of her head, one being blue and the other green. The girl's clothes consisted of an olive green mini-skirt, and a yellow buckle around her waist with two pouches on it. She also wore white ruffled sleeves, which weren't actually attached to her yellow bikini-like top. Her boots were white and blue in color, while the second of these hues was shared with a bandana that tied around her head. Lastly, she had a long yellow and red scarf that hung loosely around her neck.

Paine had red eyes and a rather slender, yet tough figure. Her hair was silver and cut rather short, which seemed to be emphasized by the fact that it was pulled back on the sides. On the top however, Paine's hair was a bit spiky with the girl's bangs hanging over her left eye slightly. The teen's outfit itself was mostly made from black leather, whether it was her folded top, skin-tight shorts, high-heeled boots or elbow-length gloves. The final part of her outfit was the silver pendant threaded with a barbed wire chain around her neck.

As the three gazed at the other group, they all slowly gained an expression of shock. Yet after a brief delay Sora and Rikku just suddenly rushed up to one another, bringing their arms around each other in a tight hug. "Rikku~!" the former called out happily.

"Sora~!" the latter sang as they continued their embrace for a moment, allowing the others to meet in the middle of the hallway.

"What are you doing here?" Sora questioned with blinking eyes.

"What am I doing here? What are you doing here?" Rikku asked back, leading for them to them giggle lightly between themselves.

They then released their hug, and turned their attention to the others around them. "Are you the ones we're supposed to be meeting here?" Riku asked silently while looking to Paine, whom gave a shrug in response.

"Not sure, we were told to meet..." the silver-haired girl started, yet paused as she gained a rare smirk on her features.

"...'a group of utter fools'." she finished, obviously quoting someone with these words.

This made Riku sigh heavily while nodding to this and rubbing both eyes; "Yep...that sounds like Maleficent." he muttered in a very annoyed tone.

"But how did you three get involved with Maleficent?" Kairi spoke up as she had gone up to Yuna.

Said girl tilted her head up in thought as she placed both hands upon either hip; "It was back when the world had fallen into darkness. We suddenly ended up in a place that they called; 'Traverse Town'." she explained before looking to the others.

"Yeah, I think they said it was the town's 'Fourth District'." Rikku added, tapping her chin briefly with a slender finger.

Sora looked to each of the three before down in thought; 'I guess it would explain why I never saw them, even when we ended up in the same world at the same time.' she thought to herself quickly.

"Anyway..." Yuna continued, gaining everyone's attention once more.

"...we wandered around for a few days, trying to find even just one person from the island. But we never found anyone." she said softly and a bit sadly as her head tilted down.

"And that's when Maleficent appeared." Paine claimed, her deciding that she would interject.

"She told us what happened to our home, but also that she could potentially bring it back. So she offered us a deal." the girl continued, slowly crossing both arms over her chest.

Though the four briefly narrowed their eyes to this as they pieced together that Maleficent simply used that promise to get them to follow her. But before any of them could talk about it, Rikku simply added onto the silver-haired girl's words. "Yeah~! She said that she would give us some really awesome powers so that we could fight against the darkness~!"

Paine nodded her head to this, but she then let out a heavy breath before finishing the story. "Of course, we had to fight on her behalf and in exchange, she would return our island to how it once were." her tone showing that she didn't like having to work for the witch.

"But we've also used these powers for treasure hunting~! And now that our home is back, we've been treasure hunting way more than before~!" Rikku declared optimistically as she gave the other group a wink.

"You three always were eager to find treasure. Even on the island, you would dig up holes all over the place...expecting to find buried treasure." Sora commented silently with a soft giggle and smile.

"What? It's the best way to get rich quick~! Plus it's really fun~!" Rikku said back as her grin simply widened, making the other girl mimic this expression.

"Well...our searches, before the island was brought back, were to find things that could help Maleficent to save our world a little faster. But there wasn't ever anything 'that' convenient." Yuna spoke with a heavy sigh and shrug.

Though the other four blinked a few times, they soon glanced to one another and took on a small smirk. "Boy do we have quite the story to tell you." Sora claimed with a wide grin curling her lips.

Despite the trio raising a brow in question, they just waited for the brown-haired girl to continue. "Although, I think we should find the computer room at the same time. It'll help to pass the time a bit easier." Sora suggested, glancing around to everyone else as they gave a nod in response.

"Sounds good...though..." Paine started, her gaze slowly turning toward Namine as if finally noticing the blond's presence.

"...who the heck is that?" she finished as Sora just chuckled lightly.

"Trust me...that's a whole story in itself." the girl had commented while the seven started heading off on their way through the hallways.

All the while, Maleficent herself was watching this whole interaction via her crystal ball, to which she smirked deviously. "I do hope you like the extra gift I gave you and your friends, Sora...cause now it's time for you to give me something in return." she whispered silently in a tone that practically dripped with manipulation and venom.

* * *

 **And there you have it, 'that' is my introduction of the Gullwings. I hope you don't mind the change since while they're not always going to be around, their connection to the main three will be a big driving force. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed and will let me know what you thought. Until next time.**


	58. Space Paranoids part I

**Sorry that this is a week late, I had most of it finished...but just never had the time to fully complete it on time. I hope that this makes up for the delay and that all of you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 57: Space Paranoids part I

"Wow...and I thought we had been through a lot." Rikku hummed out with a blinking gaze as she glanced between Sora, Riku and Kairi.

"Yeah, you guys sure went through way more than anything we've come up against so far." Paine commented, her own gaze being quite surprised.

Yuna nodded in agreement to this before turning toward Sora specifically; "I can't even imagine having Maleficent inside your mind for a full year." she said with an exasperated expression.

"We can barely stomach her for an hour or two." the silver-haired girl added, letting out a heavy sigh afterwards.

Sora simply waved a hand as a small smile curled her lips; "It wasn't so bad. Besides...you three shouldn't sell yourselves short. I can't imagine having to save a whole world with only a kettle and some string." she said in a clearly impressed tone.

"And I was wearing a vegetable~!" Rikku claimed, holding her hand up with a wide grin spreading on her features.

"Well, there was a lot more to it, but that was basically what happened." Yuna said while shrugging her shoulders.

"Still, it's really impressive." Kairi said as she giggled softly and glanced to the three.

"Very." Riku added with a nod, to which he looked to the hallway directly ahead of them.

Of which appeared a great deal more intact than the rest of the building. The hallway itself becoming better lit the closer they got to the large brown door at the end. Yet the sheer fact that very little was damaged in this area, whatever room was beyond the door, had to be an important one. "I guess we're getting close." Sora muttered, shrugging briefly as the group approached the door.

Upon pushing it open, this revealed what appeared to be some sort of office. The room itself was round in shape and had sand-colored walls, of which had pipe-like protrusions all along them. There were also a series of book shelves that reached less than half the height of the walls themselves. The books on said shelves appeared to be old and covered in dust, obviously not being read in quite a long time. While there was a large desk at one end, as well as various broken vials and papers across it, there wasn't a single computer anywhere in sight. Along with this, there was no other way in or out of the room.

However, what grabbed most of the group's attention was the large portrait on the opposite end of the room. It depicting a man whom appeared almost identical to Ansem, causing Sora's eyes to narrow. "So much for this place being 'Ansem the Wise's' castle." she muttered in a huff.

Despite her obvious dislike in seeing this, the brown-haired girl still appeared thoughtful about what it could mean. Sora knowing that there had to be something more to it, as 'this' sort of thing was far below Maleficent's typical type of 'trickery'. But as for what it could mean, she had no idea. Though, as the group looked around the room, Riku moved toward the portrait. His own eyes narrowing as well, to which he simply grabbed the bottom and easily tossed the picture to the side.

The frame somehow remaining intact, even after hitting the floor with a loud thud. Yet no one paid it any mind as they saw a series of illustrations on the wall that the portrait was previously covering. Sora moved closer to the wall along with many of the others, to which they began examining the drawings as best they could.

"Hollow Main Security." Rikku read off from the very top of what they could see.

"Tron/Door to Darkness." Sora uttered, her eyes focusing on the last three words for a few extra moments.

After reading these off, the group then looked over the depiction of what appeared to be a heart surrounded by one normal circle and one that held odd shapes within it. This outer ring also having descriptions directed toward each strangely configured part. Though, none of them could read what it said, leaving for the group to simply ponder what any of this could mean. During their thoughts however, the silence that befell the room allowed them to notice a soft humming from beyond the left side.

While Riku and Paine moved to examine the wall, Sora remained fixated on the drawing. Her gaze continuing to stay on the diagram as if knowing there was something about it she needed to know. But her attention was finally taken away, as the pair of silver-haired teens somehow managed to cause the wall to disappear in a brief flash of magical light. Beyond this opening, everyone saw a grey walled corridor that lead into yet another area of the castle.

But more than that, the humming they heard was now a great deal louder. It causing many in the group to blink many times in response, them being quite surprised that the wall was able to muffle as much of the noise as it had been. "Guess whatever is going on in this area must have been going for a while." Yuna muttered with a shrug of her shoulders, to which everyone made their way into the next area.

Despite giving another glance back to the drawing on the way, Sora quickly followed after her friends as they came to an open area. This showing a massive room that stretched forward for hundreds of yards, as well as having huge power cells lining the walls. There were also a series of spikes that pointed down toward an equal number of platforms. Upon seeing all of this, the group paused for a few moments to simply gaze out at the scene. Even though there was a guardrail blocking them from going further into this room, it didn't stop everyone from leaning over the side to also see the floor dozens of meters down.

"Now 'this'...is impressive." Kairi muttered out, leading for everyone to merely nod their heads in agreement.

Though, Namine was the first to snap out of this daze and move further along the path. Which lead her into what appeared to be a control room of sorts, there being a large computer on the left side. It facing a window that showed the area just outside, as if to keep an eye on everything even while working. When the others finally caught up and examined the room, they all paused when seeing a series of circular lights on the opposite wall of the computer. In the center of these lights was a red panel that emitted a pulsing glow, making it a great deal more intimidating than it should have.

"So..." the blond girl spoke up as she glanced around to the others; "...who wants to go in front of the big laser-looking machine to use the computer first?" she asked while shrugging her shoulders.

Although everyone had been thinking the same thing, they found themselves frozen in place. None of them wanting to go forward, but they knew someone still had to do it. After this brief pause, Sora slowly started noticing that everyone was turning their eyes directly at her. This made her blink many times before realizing what was happened, to which she cleared her throat. "I think I..um..have to use the bathroom really quick." she hummed out quickly as she then instantly attempted to rush out of the room.

But before she could get too far, the others immediately jumped on her, leading into a rather cartoony scuffle. There being a brief dust cloud around them as Sora struggled to get out, yet to no avail. It ending with the group pushing the brown-haired teen ahead while the other stood back, to which the girl pouted in response. "Now you're all just being mean." she muttered with a huff, yet she still moved herself forward.

All the while, everyone else was just standing to the side. At the same time however, they were ready to jump in at a moment's notice. As Sora moved just inside of the 'sight' of the red panel, she stuck her hand out nervously and waved it briefly. Though, when nothing happened, she let out a breath in relief and turned toward the others with a small smile. "Guess we were scared of noth-" she started before a sudden beam of light shot from the red screen and hit her in the side.

"Kya~!" she yelped out in fright as everyone rushed over to the girl.

When they had, Sora had appeared to have frozen in place as rapid beams of light emanated from the screen as the teen started to phase out of existence. "Oh crap~!" she let out in a somewhat squeaky voice.

"Sora!" the group called out, yet Kairi and Namine were cut short as beams of light hit them as well.

"Kya~!" they both let out as the pair shared the same 'fate' as Sora.

After the three had disappeared, the others immediately moved out of the panel's 'sight'. "Okay, we definitely have to stay clear of that thing." Riku said quickly as he and the Gullwings moved a few steps out of the room.

"I dunno what that thing is, but it's creepy." Rikku uttered as she looked around the corner to 'spy' on the red panel.

"Though, it definitely can't be deadly...those three wouldn't have made that noise if they were in actual pain." Yuna said while tilting her head down in thought.

A second after her words, each of the four went silent as they starting holding in the urge to laugh. "We're never gonna let them live this down, right?" Paine asked, smirking wholeheartedly in amusement.

"Never ever." Rikku claimed with a wide grin plastered on her features.

Meanwhile, Sora, Namine and Kairi each appeared in a completely new area. It looking like a huge city that was all cut from one world-sized, metallic block. Yet there were also glowing lights that seemed to run through everything, the colors of which ranging from red, to yellow, to blue, to green. After looking around to all this, the three slowly turned towards each other and notice that their clothing had been changed slightly. All of them now having rather metallic and glowing versions of their respectful outfits, but they still appeared just as light and flexible as normal.

"Whoa..." Sora muttered out silently while looking around the area, as well as her friends.

"Where are we?" Kairi questioned in a bit of shock, her also shifting her gaze from side to side.

"I...I'm not really sure." Namine uttered with a shrug, unable to determine what had even happened to them.

"Each of you are inside a main frame computer system." a voice suddenly spoke as a man slowly walked toward them, him simply appearing in a flash of light.

This person looking to be a normal adult human with grey eyes, light blue skin and wearing nothing but grey armor. Mostly of which was rather seamless, as the only distinct parts were his knee-high boots, small pauldrons, and vambraces. He also had on a helmet, which, along with the rest of his armor, had complex patterns of blue computer circuitry that glowed a bright cyan color.

As the man approached the group, he offered a small smile. "Hello, my name is Tron. I assume one of you is a User by the name of, Sora?" he asked, looking from one to the other.

After this question, each of the girls blinked as they all wondered how he would know that. Yet they didn't have to wait long as Tron simply continued on as if he was able to tell their confusion, based solely on their expressions. "Lea said that a girl by the name of 'Sora' would be coming here to get him and the others. And since there haven't been any female visitors, I figured that at least one of you would be the one he spoke of."

Though Sora blinked several more times in curiosity of whom this 'Lea' was, she just cleared her throat and nodded. "Yep...I'm the one called Sora. Would you happen to know if Lea was still here?" she asked, her tone being rather hopeful.

"He is indeed, along with Even and Ienzo." the man answered, him giving another small smile.

However, these names just made the three blink in confusion as despite sounding familiar somehow, none of them could place how or why. Sora then just smiled back to Tron while clearing her throat once more for a brief moment. "Would you be able to lead us to them?" she questioned with a tilt of her head to the side.

"Of course, follow me." the strange man responded as he headed off in the direction that he seemed to have come from.

The three teens simply looked to one another for a moment, clearly expecting this to be a potential trap. But before Tron could get too far, they walked quickly after him regardless. "No matter what happens, we'll figure it out." Kairi whispered while continuing on their way.

As they did, the man glanced to each of them with an inquisitive gaze. "So what are each of your names?"

"Well, you already know that I'm Sora." the girl responded while pointing to herself before looking to her friends.

"I'm Kairi."

"And I'm Namine."

"And I'm Lea." a man suddenly spoke up from behind the group, to which they each spun themselves around quickly.

But before they could bring out their weapons for a possible fight, all of them paused when seeing a familiar face. "Got it memorized?" Lea finished with a grin while pointing to the side of his head.

* * *

 **And there you have it, the end is a little rushed I will admit, but that's mainly because I cut out a scene that I plan to just put into next chapter. It'll fit better there, so I figured that I would just go with that. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed this and will let me know what you thought. Until next time.**


	59. Space Paranoids part II

**I almost thought I was gonna have to delay this chapter, but I managed to get it done right when I wanted to...ish. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 58: Space Paranoids part II

"Got it memorized?"

Upon turning and seeing Lea, Sora's eyes widened heavily in both surprise and utter relief as the red-haired man just grinned to her. "Yo. It's been a while, huh Sora?" he asked, sounding just as laid-back as ever.

Of which simply made Sora herself take on a small grin of her own, to which she nodded slowly in agreement. "Yeah, it really has." she said while turning fully to the man.

"Lea..." Tron started in a bit of shock as he also turned in the same direction.

"...weren't you the one whom suggested that all of you stay hidden while I go out when needed? The MCP might be in hibernation right now, but Sark is still searching for each of you." he continued as a confused expression spread on his features.

"Yeah, but we also gotta stretch our legs every so often. Plus, Even keeps asking for more materials." Lea claimed with a 'matter-a-fact' tone before it turned into a somewhat exasperated one.

Tron blinked several times before shrugging and letting out a heavy breath; "It's so hard to understand Users, your actions and words are so often contradicting."

"Yep, that sounds about right." Sora claimed, grinning even more than before as she looked to Lea.

"So, what happened? From what I heard from Aeleus, all of you split up to find answers. But since he stayed behind, he got captured right away. When did all of you come here? And did you find anything out?" she asked curiously, obviously wanting to know more about the events that transpired.

The red-haired man raised a brow to her before he simply gave a slow shrug of his shoulders. "Well, not long after we split up to look for answers as to what Xemnas was up to, everything pointed right back to Hollow Bastion." he started, letting out a heavy sigh at the end.

"Could have saved ourselves a lot of trouble if we just stayed behind with Aeleus. But...since he got captured, it wouldn't have been the best idea." Lea added silently, him looking down in a thoughtful manner for a moment.

Though, as he raised his gaze back to Sora, he quickly cleared his throat and continued on. "Anyway, after coming here and not finding Aeleus...we figured that the best way to figure out what Xemnas is doing and not having to worry about the threat of the Organization...was to go inside of the computer." he explained, gesturing to the area around them.

"This whole world is a cyberspace within the computer...meaning that all the data accessible in the computer, is accessible to us in here." Lea stated, yet it sounded more like he was repeating something someone else had said.

"That makes sense, so have you managed to get any of the information?" Namine questioned with a slight tilt of her head to the side.

"Regrettably not." Tron spoke up as he moved up a bit closer to the group, them only loosely following him before.

"Though we had successfully driven back Sark's and the MCP's control over the system, there is no way to get complete access until they're gone for good. And without any help from the outside, we don't have the means of destroying the MCP fully." he continued, looking to each of the others as they slowly nodded their heads in response.

"And because Even set the computer to bring anyone whom approaches it, into this place...there isn't any way of getting the help we need." Lea said with a heavy sigh.

"Sure it was a good way of making sure the Organization couldn't get to us without also getting dragged in, but it also means we kind of trapped ourselves here." he muttered in an almost afterthought manner.

"What is it you guys need to take down this 'MCP'? Kairi questioned, her tone being quite curious as she tilted her head to the side slightly.

"A virus." Tron answered, yet placed a finger and thumb under his chin in a thoughtful manner.

"Though Even mentioned that a 'Keyblade' could act as one in this world, he also said that a very specific program would need to be added in order to allow such a function." he finished silently while looking between the others.

Sora blinked a few times before she slowly took on a grin; "Meaning, now that we're here, we can take care of the MCP and finally get access to whatever information that might be on this computer." she stated, Kairi and Namine nodded their heads to this.

"Indeed. I suggest that we meet with the others and strategize our offensive with maximum efficiency." Tron commented as he too nodded to the teen.

Lea simply chuckled lightly before gesturing for everyone to follow him as he started moving forward. "Yeah, we'll get right on that." he muttered, the group either walking beside of behind him.

As they went, the teens had mostly looked around at the area around them. Everything looking mostly the same, save for the buildings themselves. Which kept from becoming boring and repetitive by having different designs, as well as varying colors. Though the trip itself was far from quiet as Tron made sure to ask the three girls all sorts of questions along the way.

"I've heard that there are many other worlds outside of this place and the one just outside, what kind of world are all of you from?"

"Is it far from here?"

"What other worlds have you been to?"

"What sort of users have you met in those places?" where just some of the things he asked with a very interested tone, as though he were making mental notes of their answers.

Their walk had finally come to an end just after Tron made his last question to the group. "I've heard of an emotion called 'love', is that something any of you have experienced?"

Immediately following this, Sora quickly cleared her throat and gestured to the small building they had stopped in front of. "W-What do you know...it looks like we've arrived." she said quickly with a deep blush, her looking to Lea as if pleading with him for this to indeed be their destination.

The red-haired man just chuckled to this as he nodded his head to the teen; "It seems that way." he hummed out in a clearly teasing tone, making the girl huff to him.

Sora then nervously turned her gaze to Kairi, in order to see how she had reacted to the question. But the other teen appeared completely unaffected, her appearing very calm and collected as she went inside the building with the others. Sora blinked briefly to this before tilting her head down; 'Was that time just my imagination?' she thought in a somewhat disheartened manner as she recalled the 'moment' they shared on the island not too long ago.

The brown-haired girl never noticing the fact that Kairi had placed a hand over her face and actually cast an ice spell upon it. This causing her rising blush to quickly fade and make her appear completely normal, though she let out a heavy sigh when going inside. 'That question really caught me off guard.' she mused while taking in a calming breath.

As the group made their way up a set a stairs to the second level, they quickly saw Vexen and Zexion sitting in the middle of the floor. Despite there being a sofa and a chair nearby, they remained on the floor as the former of the two appeared to be tinkering with a ring-shaped device. "Tch! About time you got here!" he suddenly declared in an annoyed tone, not even turning to look at whom arrived.

"I've been needing more Energy for this disk, now hurry up and get me some." Even continued, even waving his hand slightly in a 'shooing' motion.

"And like I've told you multiple times...I don't take orders from you." Lea stated, rolling his eyes and sitting down in the chair within the room.

"And like I've told you even more times, if we want to get the information we came in here for and escape, then we need-" the platinum-blond-haired man started, but stopped as he turned toward Lea and ended up seeing Sora and the others coming up next to him.

"Yo." the girl greeted with a wave of her hand to both Even and Ienzo.

The latter of whom stood up from his spot on the floor and blinked a few times at Sora; "You're actually here." he uttered out in a pleasantly surprised manner.

"Of course, I wasn't about to leave you here after finding out where you had gone." Sora responded, giving a quick wink afterwards.

"So are you guys working on the virus that will defeat the MCP?" she continued while looking and pointing at the disk-shaped device in Even's hands.

"Hmph, in simplistic words...yes." said man began in his typical condescending tone.

"Though the process would be going much faster if a certain someone was providing the appropriate amount of materials and tools I needed. Rather than just getting whatever amount he feels like getting." he continued, his gaze being fixed on Lea.

However, the red-haired man simply placed his hands behind his head and shrugged. "You say that, but we all know you're always asking for more than you need so that you can do needless experiments." he retorted knowingly, causing Even to growl silently and just return to his work.

"They aren't 'needless' experiments, you'll see for yourself just how important my research truly is one day." he declared firmly, despite the fact that he just carried on tinkering.

"Yeah yeah...and until then, I'm not going to constantly humor you. We're on a mission after all." Lea stated, to which Ienzo gave a nod in agreement to this.

The platinum-blond-haired man let out a silent 'tch' in response, yet he didn't say anything back as he too believe it to be accurate. Though, it didn't stop him from making a few irritated noises, as well as shooting everyone in the room a couple annoyed glances. "Hmph, whatever. As a scientist, I'm used to making the most of a limited source of usable materials." he claimed with a proud tone, making most of the others just sigh and roll their eyes.

"I assume you will be attaching it as an added function to the Keyblade you mentioned?" Tron asked as he glanced between Even and Sora.

The former of them gave a nod in response, yet still didn't stop work on the device. "Indeed." was all he answered back, which immediately told everyone that there was more to it.

After a brief silence passed, Even sighed heavily in knowing that they were waiting for an explanation. "But..." he continued as he finally stopped fiddling with the device and looked around to the group.

"...because it has a limited amount of power, the program I've written on this disk will automatically be derezzed one minute after its activation. And since it's not strong enough to pass through the MCP's barrier on its own, it'll need to be added to the Keyblade before going through." the man said, making everyone slowly look down in thought.

"So we'll literally only have one minute to defeat the MCP, or else it'll be back to square one." Sora uttered out in an exasperated manner.

"And I'm guessing that disk only holds so much power, so it would be impossible to add any more to it before, or after activation?" Namine questioned, rubbing her chin gently in a thoughtful way.

Just as Even was about to answer, he just cleared his throat and nodded his head slowly. This confusing the others until Lea spoke up once more in his teasing tone; "Like I said, 'always asking for more than he needs'."

Sora giggled softly to this as she nodded, to which she then turned toward Tron. "So how do we get to the MCP?"

Meanwhile, outside the computer room, Riku quickly rushed back to the doorway. Him having tried using the portrait of Ansem from the previous area to sneak pass the red screen. Yet the moment it came into 'view', the picture was sent to the computer's main frame. "Man...nothing we do is working." the silver-haired teen muttered with a sigh.

"Anything that moves, it just takes." Yuna muttered, crossing her arms and looking down thoughtfully.

"Maybe we should just follow after them." Rikku suggested while shrugging her shoulders.

"We still don't know what happened to them, so we could just be going right into a trap that would keep us suspended in some kind of pocket dimension." Paine claimed, yet received a few raised brows from the others.

"What? It could happen." she added quickly.

Though, before any of them could speak any further, an alarm started to sound. Red lights flashing around them as a view screen appeared on the widow above the computer. Even from the group's view, they could see a lone figure in black moving toward the castle's entrance. "Looks like we have company." Riku uttered out as the group summoned their weapons quickly and waited for the intruder to come to them.

* * *

 **Alright, there you have it. We have two stories going on right now, but what challenges will these groups face? And will one be greater than the other? Find out next time on the next episode of Dragon Ball Z! Wait, I've already done that joke before. Um...find out next time on Digimon! Digital Monsters! I don't think I've done that one yet. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed and will let me know what you thought of this. Until next time.**


	60. Space Paranoids part III

**Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 59: Space Paranoids part III

"Whew~..." Sora hummed out silently, resting the Keyblade upon her shoulder while looking around.

There being a large number of Heartless all around her and the group as once they went outside, the creatures almost immediately attacked them. "Guess it's safe to say that the MCP is ready for another round." the brown-haired teen continued with a shrug.

"The MCP must have exited its hibernation state the moment each of you arrived. Meaning that it only took a few cycles to determine where all of us were and send an assault team here." Tron said, giving a nod to Sora's words.

"At the very least, we shouldn't be delayed too long. These foes don't appear to be overly strong." the blue-skinned man added as he turned back to the Heartless.

Said beings having either an insect or vehicle-like design, as well as also having neon lights banded around their bodies. Of which appeared similar to the ones on the buildings and roads of this 'digital world'. "Though...I've never seen them before, are these creatures common in the User world?" he questioned while looking over to the others as they continued to fight the creatures of darkness.

"You could say that. But they definitely look different from what we're used to." Kairi responded as she slashed at a few of the nearby Heartless with her Keyblade.

The girl having a bit of flourish to her attacks as she clearly had been training to perfect some kind of technique. Sora smirked to this as she continued her own assault, yet the girl's mind began to wander as she fought almost unconsciously. 'That does remind me...I still haven't learned any actual sword fighting techniques. I've been training in magic most of the time, and have started to use Kung-Fu...but I haven't tried doing much else.' she thought to herself, all as she thoughtlessly moved to avoid the rather slow attacks of the Heartless.

"But it is a wonder of how and why the Heartless managed to get into this computer." Namine spoke up, looking to the others as no one seemed to notice the fact that Sora was mostly 'zoned-out'.

"The Heartless change themselves to fit the worlds they invade, so it's not out of the question that they were 'digitized' and brought here if they got too close to the computer." Even explained, yet his tone showed that even he wasn't fully convinced of this.

His words seeming all the less unlikely as, despite defeating so many of the Heartless, the number of them didn't diminish at all. Though the group was still progressing forward, it felt as though there was truly no end to the mass of enemies. In both the paths ahead and behind them, more and more droves of Heartless were continuously flooding forward. However, all of this felt more like an annoyance, than an cause for panic. That is, until Tron spoke up once more.

"Perhaps Sark found a way to replicate one of the creatures and has mass produced them on a nearly limitless scale." he stated, causing the others to stop instantly and turn towards him.

All of them having a similar realization at the same time, including Sora, as she snapped out of her daze. 'If a limitless number of Heartless can be replicated in this world and brought back out into the User world, then there is no way of stopping them.'

"Are you saying that we could be facing a literal endless stream of Heartless right now?" Lea asked as he moved out of the way from an attacking creature.

"If whatever machines he has replicating these creatures are able to produce more than we can defeat within a selected time range...then yes, we might be." Tron answered with a shrug, not appearing to be entirely shaken.

"Which we can't tell unless we take the time to count." Ienzo commented, sighing heavily in an obvious sign of not wanting to take up such a challenge.

"And we'd just be tiring ourselves out by that point...so..." Sora started, her ending with a tone that suggested that everyone knew what to do next.

At which point, Kairi and Namine began to glow a bright white as they released a large wave of energy in one direction that destroyed dozens of Heartless all at once. All the while, Lea shot a concentrated beam of fire that incinerated just a few less than the pair. Even encased only a couple dozen in ice before snapping his fingers, shattering both the ice and his foes along with it. Ienzo summoned large flaming boulders to shower down from above, defeating the most Heartless thus far.

This making Even just let out a 'tch' in response before turning to Tron as the man appeared to generate a large number of blocks around his hands. These having the same appearance as the roads and buildings of the world, yet they quickly jolted towards the Heartless in a robotic fashion. Them quickly consuming the creatures one after another before slowly disappearing together with his foes.

Sora blinked many times in interest along with the others as they wondered what other kinds of powers this man might have. But the brown-haired girl then turned to the remaining enemies, which were down to only a few dozen after everyone else's attacks. Despite her knowing it was an easy win, the teen huffed and looked to the others with a light pout. "But I wanted to be the cool one and take out the most Heartless." she hummed out, to which the others just chuckled softly and shrugged their shoulders.

As Sora looked back to the Heartless and the many other swarms coming closer, she took in a breath and held a hand up. "Maybe I can be a little flashy and still look cool." she muttered to herself before a white ball of magic formed in her palm.

It quickly shooting a few meters over her head, to which it then split into one red and one blue sphere. Of which had gained a vortex of white energy around them in the shape of a diamond. This also having a red and blue orb, only these spun around the vortex and began drawing in all of the visible Heartless towards it. As this happened, many of the creatures were destroyed almost instantly by the rotating spheres.

While the other Heartless were being pulled toward and around the center of this spell, Sora slowly pointed her index and middle fingers toward it. "Lets see if this works." she whispered in a somewhat giddy tone as a grin curled her lips.

Following her words, a beam of black energy flew into the core of the spell. This causing the magic to turn dark before rising upward many more meters into the air. Once it did the spell then radically expanded and created an even greater pull for each of the Heartless. It clearing up the group's previously cluttered pathway forward, and even opened up other roads they could take. Yet they moved along their designated route as quickly as possible without diverging. All the while, Sora grinned widely and spoke up in a proud tone; "Cool, right?" she called out while everyone else simply rolled their eyes in response.

"Aw~, come on~! I'm actually curious~!" the girl claimed, but no one bothered to answer as they had soon come to a docking bay.

"This is the Solar Sailor boarding area, we can reach the MCP using one of them within a matter of cycles." Tron explained as he pointed towards a large platform that held huge sails in the front and back.

These being almost transparent and were placed on the platform itself like two sets of butterfly wings. But while looking to this strange structure, a beam of light appeared to stretch from the front of it, all the way out to the horizon. Where of which, so much, yet so little was seen. There were clear signs of other structures out in the distance, but it was impossible to tell what they were. "I guess this is where we should split up." Lea suddenly said with a sigh, to which Sora quickly turned toward him in confusion.

"We gotta shut down Sark's Heartless-making factory as soon as possible." the red-haired man explained as Ienzo, Even and Tron nodded in agreement.

"Once we defeat the MCP, the system will likely reset and anything and anyone can get in or out of this place." the platinum-blond-haired man explained, showing that the four had come to understand this after Tron's words.

"And since we have to get rid of the MCP as quickly as possible, we should do this around the same time in order to avoid one side getting an upper hand on us. So some of us should go do that, while the others take down the MCP." Lea added, shrugging his shoulders slowly.

"Alright, so how should we split up?" Kairi asked quickly, knowing that Sora was about to object to separating.

Tron then raised a hand briefly while clearing his throat lightly; "I believe I have a suggestion for that." he started, taking a step forward and looking around to each of the others.

"Based on what I observed from everyone's fighting-styles and how they work in tandem with others, I believe I have determined the appropriate teams. Kairi and Namine have a perfectly synchronized attack strategy, almost to the point of being the same person. " the man continued, slowly gesturing to the pair as they just looked to the sides in a sheepish manner.

"Lea and Ienzo have a very balanced manner of attack and defense." Tron claimed, his hand moving to these two as they just glanced to one another in a bit of surprise.

"Even and Sora both have easily adaptable ways of fighting, yet don't compliment one another at all. So I would recommend having them on separate teams to allow for optimal chances of success." he finished, causing these two to turn toward each other and just huff in response.

"So you're saying that it should be Kairi and Namine on one team, me and Lea on another...which leaves us to choose either Sora or Even to be our 'extra'." Ienzo muttered before letting out a silent breath.

Sora froze in place for a moment as she slumped downward, her echoing back; 'Extra' a few times aloud. All the while, Even simply rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "This is all well and good, but either Sora or Kairi have to be the one to defeat the MCP...so if they're on the same team, then that's the only mission they'll undertake." he declared in a firm and rather annoyed manner.

Kairi glanced to the brown-haired girl for a moment before giving a small smile; "Namine and I will go to fight Sark." she stated, letting everyone figure out how they all fit into place in the teams.

'Kairi, Namine and Even'

'Sora, Lea and Ienzo'

Each of them slowly nodded, yet Sora turned to Tron and blinked multiple times. "What about you? Which group do you wanna join?" she asked curiously, to which the man turned to her with an equally curious gaze.

"Well, the logical team I should join would be-" he began before pausing when the girl waved a hand to him.

"No no...don't make it about 'logic', that's what 'creating' a team is for. 'Picking' a team should be a 'want' rather than a 'need'." Sora said as she took on her signature smile.

The blue-skinned man gazed at the teen for a few seconds as he didn't appear to know how to respond. But as he was about to speak up, Even did so before he could. "Ridiculous. Without me around, Tron is the only other person whom knows how my device works." he claimed, handing the disk to Tron.

Sora huffed to these words while crossing her arms; "I could have figured it out...eventually." she claimed with another pout on her features.

Tron gazed to the girl as a small smile curled his lips; "Users are quite fascinating." he whispered silently before turning to Even, Kairi and Namine.

"The most plausible areas for Sark to be creating his army, would all be near of the Data Space. It's where this computer's information is stored, so be careful when destroying the machinery." he continued quickly as the three gave a nod in response.

Afterwards, the groups gave quick farewell nods to each other and headed off in different directions. One going onto the Solar Sailor and headed to the buildings in the distance, while the other backtracked to get to the Data Space. Though, this second group noticed that even after traveling quite far, the spell Sora created was still going and destroying a great many Heartless. "Guess that is kinda cool." Kairi commented with a small smile, to which she summoned her Keyblade while the Heartless out of range of the spell came rushing at them.

Meanwhile, Sora sneezed briefly and rubbed her nose gently; "I hope you can't get sick in this place." she muttered silently, letting out a sigh.

"Well, actually..." Tron started as he turned away from the controls and started describing to the group about how 'sickness' was an impossibility in this world.

But the other three just slowly started drifting to sleep as not only did the trip take a long time, but Tron's explanation lasted the whole way. "I hope Riku and the others are having an easier time." Sora muttered with another, yet heavier sigh.

At the same time however, said four were laying on the ground outside of the castle. Small trails of blood and debris were scattered all around the area, as well as having obvious signs of an intense battle. Despite Riku attempting to stand back to his feet, his limbs were shaking from both pain and exhaustion. "D-Damn it..." he whispered in anger before his body gave out and his consciousness faded.

"Hmph, so sad." a voice spoke out from the shadows, just to the side of the now unmoving group.

"I do hope you put up a better fight...Sora." they finished as a set of green cat-like eyes were all that were visible of this person.

* * *

 **Alright, get ready for a bit of a roller coaster, things are gonna start getting pretty heavy rather soon. I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter and will let me know what you thought. And fifty points to whomever can guess the mystery person at the end. ;) Until next time.**


	61. Space Paranoids part IV

**Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 60: Space Paranoids part IV

As Sora and the others continued to ride the Solar Sailor, the other team fought through a horde of Heartless that simply kept amassing. However, as Kairi shot a large bolt of lightning from her free hand and looked to the facility ahead of them, her eyes narrowed slowly. Directly in front of them was a tall tower that had a large entrance way that had hundreds of Heartless constantly coming through it.

"I guess we can assume 'that' this is the place!" she called out while using her Keyblade to cast a large wave of Light.

This rolling over a large number of Heartless that were blocking this entry way, allowing the group to rush forward and inside the massive facility. They then gazed out and around the inside, where of which the three saw a huge generator high up in the ceiling. It having hundreds of spikes hanging down from the bottom, each one having levitating, glowing blue rings around them. But beneath all of these, were a series of raised platforms. Where the Heartless were continuously being generated at an alarming rate as a single spikes produced one every second.

"You are far too late to stop me!" a voice called out, to which the three quickly looked up at a man standing on a walkway of the second floor.

This person having a somewhat similar dress style to Tron, but unlike the other man, the glow in his clothes was red. Another thing setting him apart was his helmet, which appeared more like a hood as it also covered the back of his neck and merged into the rest of his suit. Though as the group gaze at this man, he placed both hands behind his back in and chuckled victoriously. "I have already amassed over two million of these creatures. And more will continue being created until this whole world becomes mine!" he declared as Kairi and Namine just let out an exasperated sigh.

All the while, Even raised a brow and began looking around the area as stealthily as he could. Something of which the two teens began to do as well, yet they didn't seem to notice anything quickly enough as they had to move out of the way from the charging Heartless. But rather than actually attacking, they appeared to be simply circling around them. Due to all these distractions, the man realized that no one was paying any attention to him. Yet as he lifted a hand up, all of the nearby Heartless immediately slowed their movements.

"As I was saying, I-" he started, but was interrupted when the two teens placed their weapons together and created a burst of fire magic.

Their attack destroying a great many Heartless, which were much easier targets now that they weren't moving. "Hmph...it seems that my boasting is wasted on your hearing receptors." the man began again, his tone being much more confident than group was comfortable with.

"However, this...will not be!" man called out, lifting his hand up even higher into the air.

As the three looked around, none of the Heartless initiated an attack. Nor was anything or anyone approaching, causing them to blink a few times and continue shifting their gaze to find out what this person had summoned. During their search, they suddenly felt a strong dark presence that surrounded the whole area. But it wasn't until they noticed that the Heartless had stopped being created, that they finally looked up toward the generator. Upon doing so, their eyes went wide when seeing the fact that the massive machine actually had a Heartless-like face on it.

"You've got to be kidding me." Kairi muttered out silently as parts of the machinery suddenly broke free and formed two huge arms.

"I guess not." Namine added with a sigh, to which the three readied to fight once more as all the surrounding Heartless rushed at them all at once.

Yet it wasn't the small ones that were worrying as the larger creature lifted its arms up and swung them down at the group. "Interesting design." Even uttered out as he and the teens swiftly dodged out of the way from each of the Heartless' attacks.

There being a loud crash and violent quake from the lead creature's blow upon the ground, which bent and cracked under it's hands. But atop of this damage, the Heartless had also destroyed it's own creations as quite a few weren't lucky enough to get out of the way. Kairi blinked to this in confusion before she looked over to Even, obviously seeking answers. "What do you mean; 'interesting design'?" she all but demanded while using a burst of lightning magic to destroy the couple dozen enemies around her.

"It generates smaller creatures to lure its foes into a 'death trap'. And while using its creations as a blockade, as well as fodder...it secures the kill." the platinum-blond-haired man explained, his expression being quite intrigued by the Heartless.

Said being having lifted its hands once more and readied to slam them down onto the three. Though, Namine moved up to the front and brought both hands up and created a huge barrier that even pushed the charging Heartless away. However, as the large creature brought down both its fists onto the shield, the magic noticeably cracked before shattering a few seconds later. Despite the impact having been softened by the barrier, the group still had to jump out of the way from the attack. Which had dented the ground yet again, though it was significantly smaller in size.

While gazing to this, Namine's eyes naturally followed one of the glowing lines in the floor and saw a large coolant reservoir mounted high up on the side of the wall. After perceiving this, she looked over to Kairi with a small smile as the other girl appeared to have seen it as well. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" the blond asked as Kairi just smiled back and nodded.

"Definitely." Kairi claimed as they quickly rushed off in different directions, leaving Even just standing there a bit confused.

But he didn't have much time to dawdle as the smaller Heartless seemed to focus more on him, now that he was alone. Which lead for the man to surround himself with a wall of ice, as well as to notice the man in red almost directly above him on the walkway. After seeing him, the platinum-blond immediately jumped up and onto the second floor, placing him almost face-to-face with the other man. "So tell me, MCP's lapdog..." Even started as he took on a confident smirk.

"...does your 'Master' know about this little project of yours?" he finished, to which the man slowly narrowed his eyes in response.

"Commander Sark no longer-" he began, but was interrupted by a loud crash just below them.

The lead Heartless having failed at hitting Kairi as she was now be running up the full length of its arm. This pulling its attention onto her fully, to which the girl then shot multiple magic spells into what she could only guess were its lightning bolt-shaped eyes. Yet nothing seemed to happen as the teen then jumped down and away from the creature's other swinging arm. Yet as she did, the girl appeared to be smirking and looking to the far end of the room where no one was paying any attention.

All the while, Sark let out a silent 'tch' before turning his attention back to Even. "As I was saying...after you and your group defeated the MCP, I have determined that I should be the one to take over. If the MCP is able to be defeated by a band of weak Users, then it is not fit to control this space!" he declared firmly, to which he gestured to himself afterwards.

"I am the best and most logical choice. So I will take this world by force, and once I'm done, I shall move onto the User world!" Sark continued, making Even just start laughing in pure amusement.

"You will not find my conquest so amusing once I-" the man in red began, yet he was once again stopped when an explosion was both felt and heard.

This leading for both men to turn towards the cause, only to realize that one of the coolant reservoirs was destroyed. However, it was clear from the aftermath of the explosion that the cause was magical. Sark let out a silent growl of frustration as he looked around for the two teens, yet he could only find Kairi. Whom destroyed all of the Heartless around her with a dome of Light, which started off small before growing to be twenty meters in diameter.

"You were saying?" Even hummed out in a taunting manner from beside Sark, whom turned swiftly to the other man.

However, it was too late as Sark was almost instantly knocked over the railings and down to the floor below. Him hitting the ground hard, but still picked himself back up in one swift motion. Though, it was still enough time for Even to follow after and hit the man with his shield once more. This pushing Sark onto his back as he was very clearly outmatched in sheer power and strength. "You will not win! This Heartless is more powerful than-" Sark started in a somewhat desperate tone, but was stopped one last time as he was then impaled on a spear of ice.

"Hmph, at least have some dignity in your death." Even claimed as Sark's form disappeared in a few flashes of red let.

The platinum-blond-haired man trying not to think about his own death where he was practically in tears. He then turned toward Kairi as the girl dodged out of the way from another massive fist from the large Heartless. Said beast obviously becoming frustrated from not being able to get its targets, making its attacks became more and more feral. "Perhaps its not so interesting after all." he commented, sounding rather disappointed as he tilted his head down in thought.

"It's clearly not of a level that would make it a threat on its own. The biggest threat is its Heartless creation ability, but even that is limited to this world." Even continued with a sigh and shake of his head.

"After all, it requires a huge amount of power, and this is probably the only place it would have enough energy to utilize it to 'this' extent." he hummed thoughtfully, all while looking to Kairi as she continued to dodge and clearly distract the large Heartless.

"Perhaps if I had a sample of it...I could-" Even started, yet stopped as Namine cleared her throat from behind him.

"Don't even think about it." Namine claimed as the 'evil scientist smile' faded from the man's features, something he hadn't even noticed he was doing.

Yet Even simply waved a hand and shrugged his shoulders; "I was merely thinking aloud." he claimed quickly.

Though, he slowly blinked a few times when seeing how the teen was glowing a bright white. She then turned away from him and pointed her staff toward another coolant reservoir, it being on the wall opposite of them. Following a bright beam of light, a similar explosion as the previous one was felt and heard. Which made the huge Heartless start becoming visibly red in shade, as well as exude a great deal of heat. The creature's movements slowing more and more until it finally just stopped moving all together. But as a wave of black energy moved down through the machine, it thinned out the closer to the bottom it got.

While a few Heartless had suddenly appeared on the platforms, it was clear that the large being was no longer able to create as many smaller Heartless as before. It even serving to over heat the Heartless all the more as there was a notable humming building up from within the creature. This caused the three to blink briefly for a moment, before moving toward the exit in an almost unconscious manner. "I think we should move." Kairi commented before they all started rushing out of the facility.

Them getting just far enough away before the entire tower simply exploded with a massive boom. It even lifting the three off their feet for a split second, yet they simply continued running a little further away. After finally coming to a stop and turning toward the building once more, they saw only a few actual flames in the wreckage. This showing that the structure itself wasn't actually flammable and was no longer a serious dangerous for them. However, they could also see that a small portion of the Data Space had been damaged from the explosion, causing them to let out a sigh.

"Well...we left it mostly intact, right?" Namine said sheepishly as this was mostly her idea.

"Yeah, pretty much." Sora commented from behind her, causing both the blond and Kairi to yelp in fright.

They then turned toward the teen as she was standing together with Lea, Ienzo and Tron. None of them appearing as if they even broke a sweat while looking at the three. "You guys defeat the MCP already?" Even questioned in genuine surprise, to which the other group simply shrugged and nodded.

"Well yeah, he couldn't exactly move...and there wasn't even any Heartless there to stop us." the red-haired man claimed, his tone showing that he was a bit disappointed.

"But..." Sora started as her expression quickly turned to exasperation.

"...if I ever hear that line again, I'm going to find a way to bring the MCP back...just so I can destroy it again." she stated in a huff, making Kairi and Namine blink in curiosity.

"What line?" they questioned almost in unison.

But just as the brown-haired girl was about to say that they shouldn't ask, Lea came up behind her and spoke. "Is that the best a User can do?" he hummed in his best impression of the MCP.

Which was more than enough for Sora to throw a half-hearted punch at the man, whom dodged easily while laughing. The girl sighed heavily and waved a hand to the other teens; "I'll explain later. For now..." she started, to which her gaze moved to the entrance of the Data Space.

Everyone else slowly looking in this direction as well, leading for them to head inside. "Lets find out if all this has been worth it." Ienzo muttered out in a sigh as the others nodded in agreement.

* * *

 **That's right, I'm skipping the MCP fight. Cause seriously...screw that line. It's so annoying and it got on my nerves every time I reached that fight. I was always looking more forward to when I'd shut him up more than anything else. On another note, the next chapter will be a very interesting one filled with plenty of lore drops. ;) Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed and will let me know what you thought. Until next time.**


	62. Hollow Bastion part VI

**Sorry that this chapter was a week late. Holidays and other stuff got in the way. I literally had it done last week, I just never got the time to edit it. Sorry about that. So to make up for it, I'll be updating next week...rather than making you guys wait another two weeks. Or...at least I'll try. ^^' Anyway, on to the chapter.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 61: Hollow Bastion part VI

"Well...that was a complete waste of time." Even claim in a huff as the group appeared in swirls of digital light in the computer room.

Each of the others looking to the man with a sigh, yet only one of them spoke up to counter. "Hey now, we couldn't have known that almost all the information we wanted to view was encrypted." Sora said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Besides, Tron is decoding everything for us, so we don't have to do anything further outside of waiting." the teen continued while looking around as if searching for her other friends.

"Hmph...it still would have been better had we actually left with the data we went in to get in the first place." Even stated firmly, to which everyone gave a slow nod of their heads in agreement.

None of them able to argue with this, particularly Ienzo and Lea, as each of the men had been in that world for quite some time. As the group spoke, they spread themselves out in the computer room. Kairi hoisting herself up to sit on the long table that the computer was built in to. Sora and Namine stood near of her, while the others made a line across the opposite wall. The lights shining around them as they each looked to one another, almost asking what they should do next.

"So what now? We can't exactly just go running off...it'll simply make us easier targets for the Organization." Ienzo comment, glancing to the others.

Many of them looked down in thought, yet Kairi spoke up with a small smile on her features. "Well, you're welcome to come with us."

"Oh yeah..." Lea started as he turned towards Sora; "...you mentioned that Arlene and Aeleus were both taken in by Yen Sid for training, right? So maybe we could join them for a time?"

However, the brown-haired teen's eyes were focused to the side as she didn't seem to notice his question. "Sora?" the man added silently with a raised brow, yet still didn't receive a response.

"What's wrong?" Kairi asked, nudging the teen as if to finally gain her attention.

"Something's wrong." Sora started as her gaze narrowed slowly.

"Riku and the others weren't taken into the computer from what we saw...so where are they?" she continued, slowly moving towards the exit of the room.

Upon doing so, the girl saw that the railing on the walkway had become twisted and contorted. It looking as if something or someone slammed into it with a great deal of force. This spurred Sora on further, as large slash and burn marks were visible all over the floor and walls. These appearing to have originated from the previous room before coming out into this area. As she briefly went into this office, everything in said room was nearly, or completely destroy.

A sinking feeling washed over the teen as she rushed back out, just as the others were following after her. Yet she quickly jumped over the railing and down to the floor down below. Where she saw even more slash and burn marks all around her, making the sinking sensation increase all the more. 'I have to find them.' she thought in a panic, hoping that her fears weren't realized.

Swinging her gaze from side to side, she then noticed a large hole in the wall. It being just to the side of where the rows of power cells were located. Sora's eyes narrowed even further before running as fast as she could through the hole. The others just now jumping down to join her, to which they called out for her to slow down. Sora never even realizing that she was using magic to increase her speed far beyond what they could keep up with normally.

As the brown-haired teen came outside, a cool breeze blew around her. Yet this also filled her senses with the scent of blood, causing Sora's now wide eyes to turn toward her friends. Each of them laying beaten and bleeding on the ground, their breathing was visibly shallow and strained. Immediately after seeing this, the light in the girl's eyes faded. Even the voices of her friends calling to her were like a faint echo to her now.

Both her eyes turned yellow and even starting to glow. Sora's heart pounded harder and louder in her chest, almost to the point of hearing it. This overtook all other sounds, and even her vision started to darkened on everything else, outside of her friends. Even despite the girl's fear of turning into her dark form, she was very much at a breaking point by looking to all this. However, this too snapped when someone else had spoke up just to her right side. "Ah, at last...you've finally made it."

Instantly, Sora's gaze snapped in this direction and narrowed heavily in clear rage. Sitting atop a broken pillar, was a red-haired man with green-colored eyes and a small smirk on his features. Him wearing a long red coat with black shoulder guards, as well as similarly colored boots, shirt and pants. To his side was a black cloak that he had likely been wearing, yet seemed to discard either after or during his fight against the four.

"I do hope that you'll make my trip here worth it. After all...I've heard so much about you." the man claimed as he hopped down from the pillar, bringing out a red rapier from his side.

There being strange markings along the blade of this weapon, yet the brown-haired girl didn't bother looking as she glared at the man. It appearing as though she wasn't even listening to him, which was even more clear as she vanished. "Particularly the fact that yo-" he continued, but instantly stopped as he blocked Sora's Keyblade with his sword.

"Well well...aren't we impatient." the man commented in a leisure tone, even as the ground under him cracked and shook.

Sora herself growling animalistically as she pressed down with all her might, clearly desiring to kill him. She had even bared her grinding teeth, which allowed her opponent to notice that there was actual darkness flowing from her very mouth. All the while, the sheer rage in the teen's eyes was practically enough to kill a normal person. Yet the red-haired foe simply smirked as if glad for all her anger being directed toward him.

"I haven't even introduced myself yet." he added while spinning away from Sora's swift kick towards his head.

"Though, I supposed since you're not in much condition to remember it..." the man started, shifting his gaze toward Sora's friends as they managed to catch up. "...they'll do so for you."

After saying this, he then caught the teen's fist as she swung it at him from above. This creating a massive gust of wind that caused the unconscious group to slide across the ground. "I am Genesis, and I'm here to test a rumor floating around about Sora." he claimed, sounding very proud of his name and likely the weight behind it.

But as Genesis turned his attention back to his foe, her right knee was already mere milometers from his face. Just as this attack was about to connect, he moved his head backward until it passed right over him. Even his grasp over her hand was released as he just allowed Sora to fall to the ground. Yet she spun around and landed on her feet in a crouching pose, to which Sora then pushed off and thrust her Keyblade at the man.

Whom brought his own weapon out and blocked the strike, only looking mildly strained while doing so. Their clash creating a percussion wave that formed gusts of wind all around them. Their hair blowing violently in these gales as they gazed to one another. One's eyes were filled with pure hatred, while the other seemed almost too relaxed and calm. Though, as they separated, a brief pause in the air was felt. It being nearly serine as no sounds were heard, like the world itself was taking a breath. But the following collisions of blade against blade filled the space and shook the ground.

The area itself being completely overwhelmed, as the quakes and shock waves had started to shatter and crumple the rocks around them. Each swing being blindingly fast, even for Sora's friends as they simply gazed to all this in utter shock. But while Kairi kept trying to rush in to help her friend, she was stopped by all of the others. "She's in a wild fury right now...going over there would just put you both in harms way." Even claimed firmly as his normal condescending tone was completely gone.

This further solidifying how little they could do right now, something none of them liked to admit. Everyone felt their helplessness building by the second. And for Kairi, it drove her to want to rush in all the more. But it was because of Namine taking the other girl's hand gently into her own, that Kairi actually stayed where she was. Each of them now settling for watching and waiting till Genesis left them an opening to strike.

Meanwhile, Sora's swings were starting to become more and more wild as she even took to using both hands. However, her lack of experience and training with the blade was fully on display now. Leading for the red-haired man to gaze at her in disappointment as he simply dodged out of the way. "I'm glad you hate me and all..." he suddenly spoke as he blocked the teen's latest attack to create a pause.

"...but are you going to use it or not?" he finished, causing Sora's wild eyes to focus slightly as if asking what he was talking about.

"I came all this way to confirm the rumor of what happened seven years ago, so you better not disappoint me, like that pathetic swordsmanship of yours." the man said in a strangely authoritative tone.

Despite the situation, a short and fleeting pause in Sora's anger. Her thinking quickly about what happened that long ago, which could be of interest to someone obviously not from her world. Yet rather than focusing on it for too long and giving her opponent an opening, she just returned back to her attack. Which became more and more focused on martial strikes as she used both her legs and free hand to strike at him.

Said man however, was not fazed by this change in the slightest. Him too using his own sword less and less, it being almost as if he was adapting to his opponent's fighting-style. Though, his movements also began to become more evasive than blocking. This making Sora realize that Genesis was simply toying with her, as he had shown to be able to take her hits with ease. Which only served to anger Sora all the further.

'He hurt my friends...leaves them bleeding on the ground...and now he's just messing with me?! I don't think so!' the teen growled in her mind before suddenly vanishing and appearing behind the red-haired man in an instant.

Sora already swinging a powerful fist at his back as she was mere centimeters away. However, in the same instant, Genesis simply disappeared and allowed her fist just continued through the air. The strain of not impacting anything caused a few of the girl's muscles to rip slightly. Though she winced from the pain, she turned quickly to the side as her foe was just standing there. Him having the rapier resting over his shoulder as a hint of annoyance and frustration was visible on his features.

"Come on now...where is it?" he all but demanded, his eyes slowly narrowing on the teen.

Whom now had black wisps of energy radiating around her body as she glared daggers to the man. Sora's pupils thinning quickly and became slits, something of which caused her opponent to briefly smirk in response. "That should be it...just a little bit more." he whispered just before blocking a wild slash from the girl.

Her now using claws made from black energy as she simply dismissed her Keyblade. Yet Genesis still blocked her attack with relative ease, him looking directly into the girl's eyes. "Come on...it's nearly there." he continued, blocking slash after slash from Sora as she went into a frenzy.

The girl's attacks becoming stronger and faster each time, but it never seemed to be enough to overpower Genesis. Said man let out a silent breath and shook his head, to which he then pushed Sora away with a single swing of his blade. "No no no, this isn't it at all. Why isn't it working?" he muttered to himself in more clear annoyance than before.

As he watched the teen land on her feet and gazed at the full cloak of black energy surrounding her, his eyes narrowed. The wisps of darkness flowing off of her were practically like flames as this form seemed to be even more enhanced than the one she had against the bear Heartless. "Hatred should have been the activation...but it seems that the darkness flowing through her has taken priority." Genesis spoke, letting out another sigh while Sora charged toward him once more.

"Guess I'll have to fix that." he whispered, simply watching the girl coming at him.

Just as she slashed toward him, he lifted his blade to block. However, no impact came as Sora had vanished once more, to which the man turned to the side where Sora was making another attack. But once again, there was no impact as Genesis kept looking around and blocking what appeared to be Sora coming at him with an attack. Though, after the fifth time in less than two seconds, the man finally lifted his gaze up and saw the girl directly above him.

Her palms being placed toward and both hands spread outward and pointing at him. But he didn't get to see what happened next as a gigantic wave of darkness exploded out from her hands. This being an even more powerful version of the teen's 'Final Eclipse', as it completely engulfed the man. The blast itself bursting through the ground and parts of the castle, everything the darkness touched having been disintegrated on touch. However, even as the energy poured forth, the red-haired man's blade suddenly emerged though it and pierced straight through Sora's chest. It being just a little under her collar bone, yet the tip of his blade was visible from the other side of her back. "That's quite the technique." he muttered, a green shield surrounding his untouched body.

Upon seeing this sight, Kairi let out a scream of panic before rushing over with her Keyblade. Even the others seemed to disregard everything they previously thought and started running toward the pair. The man briefly glanced over to their approach before smirking and turning back to Sora. "Now then...lets see how things look without your darkness." he whispered as a white magic circle appeared in the spot where his blade was stabbed into her chest.

This instantly causing the darkness around the teen to vanish as it revealed her normal form. Her eyes were wide with shock and pain as blood could be seen from her wound. At the same time, the anger Sora felt toward Genesis was burning more than ever. He hurt her friends, and would likely hurt the others too. But she couldn't win...he was too powerful. All these feelings causing her building rage to reach its peak, not knowing that they were the catalyst for what happened next.

* * *

 **And there you have it, the figure wasn't Sephiroth...but it was close. I originally was going to put him here, but I changed it a while back when I came up with an even cooler way for Sephiroth to show up. ;) Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed this and will let me know what you thought. Until next time.**


	63. Hollow Bastion part VII

**I almost didn't get this out on time...(even though it is technically late by a few hours)...but I did manage to get this done on time. I probably won't be able to return to weekly updates yet, but every so often I'll try to do it so that I can slowly get back into that groove. Anyway, onto the chapter, I hope you all enjoy it.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 62: Hollow Bastion part VII

Pain.

Burning. Devouring. Unending.

Pain.

As Genesis pulled his blade from Sora's chest and allowed her to drop to the ground, the teen readied to land on her feet. Even with such a wound, her anger dulled the initial pain. But in the brief moment of her fall, Sora was flooded with an overwhelming agony that filled all her senses. It surging through every inch of her body, as if the girl's very essence was on fire. Even as her friends rushed in to attack the red-haired man, the blood curdling scream she let out when hitting the ground, made everyone stop in their tracks.

This scream not only holding her excruciating pain, but her anger and confusion as well. The last coming from not understanding what was happening to her, nor why. All she knew, was the never ceasing, all consuming pain. While Sora's yells of anguish continued, they quickly began to sound pleading. It being too much for the girl to bare as her body tensed up greatly, to which it shivered and shook from the pain.

"What did you do to her?!" Kairi demanded as she joined her friend's side, yet was instantly shocked when seeing that the wound in her chest was already gone.

Just as the man was about to answer, he jumped away from the barrage of attacks from the others in the group. He then landed on a ledge of the rock wall, which surrounded the castle. "You'll see for yourself very soon." Genesis claimed as everyone's attention then turned towards Sora.

Whom was still screaming far louder than it should have been naturally possible. Tears starting to stream from her tightly closed eyes and sweat rapidly developing across her face. The teen's very body even beginning to produce a faint heat, all as her brown hair rippled through the air. This bringing out an even deeper fear for their friend's life, while the group could only watch. But as they did, their eyes quickly widened in even greater shock than before. As during Sora's screams of pain, her hair slowly turned silver in color.

Upon seeing this, Genesis' eyes widened as a pleased smile curled his lips. "Remarkable, her connection is so strong...it even changed her hair. This is even better than I could have hoped." he whispered silently with a brief chuckle, clearly satisfied with what he has seen.

"What did you do?!" Kairi repeated at the man, fury in her eyes while a bright white aura began to surround her.

"Can you not see?" Genesis began, pointing towards Sora.

"She-" he continued, yet paused as the now silver-haired girl let out an even louder scream before a large black wing erupted from the left side of her back.

Sora gasping sharply from this as her screaming finally came to a stop, black feathers fluttering through the air weightlessly around her. Everyone gazed to this in utter disbelief, even Genesis himself being visibly stunned as his eyes slowly narrowed. "She shouldn't have been able to gain the wing so soon. Maybe her connection is a bit too strong." he muttered quickly to himself, yet his gaze never left the teen.

Whom was now letting out a soft whimpering, each breath being either shallow or shivering. "My my...you are tough." Genesis started, speaking so that everyone could hear him.

"I figured that you would have passed out from all that, yet you're still conscious...impressive." he finished in an amused tone.

However, Sora's wide eyes were fixated on the wing that waved slightly in the air behind her. She then slowly turned her head and gaze to the man, the rage having vanished and replaced with something very different. It being comparable to the expression of a dying wish, from someone whom doesn't have the strength to go any further. "What...is...this?" Sora uttered out, her voice being highly coarse from all the screams of pain.

"It's a symbol of the Jenova cells that fill your entire body." was the man's initial answer, but no one appeared to understand what he was talking about.

Save for Even, whom did seem to have a slight reaction to the name 'Jenova', yet he couldn't remember when or where he heard it. This leading for Genesis to simply sigh briefly before he spoke up once more. "The incident seven years ago, allowed some of these cells to enter into your system. And now, after so long...they are basically your entire genetic makeup. Even when not active, they can still multiply and take over their 'host'." he continued as a black wing of his own shot out from his back.

This further shocking everyone else as they could only stare at him and Sora. Their wings basically matching, at least in their most basic appearance. "Haven't you ever wonder why your body can withstand things no normal person should? Or the fact that you have an innate affinity for magic? Or even how you're able to wield the power of darkness without losing yourself to it, regardless of how much it consumes you?" Genesis questioned in a somewhat manipulative way while smiling.

All this making Sora's eyes widen greatly before her gaze shifted down to the ground as she looked to have passed out. This lead Kairi to step forward and glare even heavier at the man; "She's not strong because of some cells! She's strong because of the bonds she shares with all of us!" she called out firmly, gesturing to herself and the others when doing so.

"We're her strength and power, just like she is all of ours! So don't talk like you actually know anything about her or what she's been through!" the auburn-haired teen called out, her eyes remaining narrowed on the man.

Despite Genesis remaining quiet for a moment, he soon chuckled and shrugged both shoulders. "Perhaps I don't...but the one who told me about these cells probably knows her better than any of you. Particularly about the things Sora's really been through." he stated, yet his words were quickly brushed away by the others as they didn't believe him.

"Trust me or not, it makes little difference. But make sure to give my regards to Maleficent. All of this has been more informative and helpful than I could have ever imagined." the man said, making everyone pause and gaze to him in shock once more.

A magic circle then appeared under him and rose upward, which caused his form to disappear while it did. Though, in the brief moment before he vanished, Genesis saw Sora actually trying to push up and off the ground. "Quite the resilient one." he muttered silently before he faded completely.

Once the red-haired man was gone, the group turned their attention back to Sora. Whom had simply managed to roll herself onto her left side, the wing slowly folding down and resting against her back. The girl's gaze being fixated on it once more, yet she eventually turned to her friends in a rare showing of fear. "What's happening to me?" she asked, her voice breaking as Sora actually allowed herself to be vulnerable in this moment.

Small tears filled Kairi's eyes before she knelt down and hugged her friend gently. "I don't know, but we'll figure this out. I promise." she spoke softly, to which the silver-haired teen nodded her head and finally lost consciousness.

"We should get out of here. All this power being thrown around will attract a lot of attention from all sides." Even stated firmly, him looking around to the others briefly as each one simply nodded.

"You guys get the others, I'll call the ship." Namine said while pointing to the three men, her voice being a bit cracked as well since she likely felt many of the same emotions as Kairi.

All of them nodded once more in response without a word, each one knowing that they just needed to leave as quickly as possible. Just as they were teleported to the Gummi ship, a mass of Heartless and Nobodies began to swarm the area as if looking for them. But the ship itself was long gone as the group headed straight for Yen Sid's tower. Where of which the master of the building took each of the injured, and healed them in an instant.

Sora however, was placed on a bed to simply rest while Yen Sid determined exactly what to do. "I had suspected something was strange about Sora from the beginning. But I never imagined it would be something like this." he started, holding both hands out over the girl's body as it glowed a soft blue color.

"Nor had I." Merlin added as he sat on the other side of the bed with his own hands hovering over Sora's still sleeping form.

"But to think...she was carrying these cells inside of her all this time. It's truly a miracle this hadn't occurred earlier. If it had...I don't think her body could have taken it." the old wizard continued softly, to which both he and Yen Sid retracted their hands, allowing the glow to fade.

"Can't we just take them out of her?" Riku asked from the side as he moved a bit closer to his friend.

"At this point in time, it would be impossible." Yen Sid said silently, shaking his head and tilting his gaze down.

"These cells make up the entirety of her physical form now, so trying to remove them...would be the same as removing Sora herself." he continued, to which everyone tilted their heads down.

Kairi and Namine being on either side of the bed as well, while sitting next to the sorcerer and the wizard respectfully. Arlene, Lea and Leon were in the back of the room just watching from a distance, yet they each had been clearly shaken by all this. Aeleus and Ienzo stood side-by-side just to the right of the bed, yet the latter was looking to Even on the other end of the room. Said man having a small device in his hands that he was typing quickly on, but the frustrated expression showed that whatever he was doing, was likely failing.

All the while, Yuffie was hugging Aerith as the pair seemed to be merely hoping that something could be done. Though Mickey and Cid were standing at the door as if waiting for someone to arrive, their backs were facing this entrance.

"Is there really no way of helping her?" Kairi asked as she looked to Merlin and Yen Sid.

The pair being silent for a few moments before shaking their heads in near unison; "This isn't like removing a poison. These cells are apart of her...and have been for quite a long time." the wizard spoke up first.

"Meaning, outside of this 'activation'...there isn't anything physically different about her." the sorcerer stated, him looking to Sora's sleeping features as she no longer appeared to be in any pain.

"So what do we do then?" Arlene suddenly asked from the back of the room, to which the others briefly glanced to her.

"The best we can do is to simply wait until her cells have balanced and synchronized. After that, she shouldn't have any further problems in controlling these cells. As well as whatever strange powers they may hold." Yen Sid answered, shifting his gaze from the blond to Sora.

Said girl slowly appearing to be waking up as her eyes fluttered opened. This revealing her pupils to be slits, and the color to be a green shade that were similar to Genesis'. "Did I miss anything?" she whispered softly, her voice still being a little coarse.

"No, you-" Merlin began, yet was cut off by a voice in the now open doorway.

"Indeed you did, Sora."

As everyone turned to the source of this sound, they saw Rufus Shinra, much to many of their dismay. "What's he doing here?" Leon demanded, his eyes narrowing on the man in the wheelchair.

"I asked him to come." Mickey responded, making all those whom showed anger toward the man's arrival, to pause and turn to the mouse.

"He knows about these kinds of things since it originated from his world. So he's our best shot in helping her." the king added, looking around to the others in order to quell any mistrust.

"Well...I wouldn't say 'originated' there, but the most recent 'dealings' with Jenova and its cells are currently in my world of Gaia. Which is why I'm requesting that as soon as Sora is able to return to the 'fight'...she come see me there." Rufus claimed, his gaze turning directly toward the silver-haired girl as Reno and Rude came walking up behind him.

* * *

 **And there you have it, a bit more lore for the things I've added into the story that is Kingdom Hearts. I hope all of you enjoyed this and are as excited as I am to play KH III. Let me know what you thought of this chapter, and until next time.**


	64. Disney Town part I

**Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 63: Disney Town part I

Sora gazed around to all the buildings around her, them being various different colors. However, they were each very vibrant with various shades of reds, blues and greens. Her standing in the middle of Disney Town, just outside of the castle she had visited not long ago. Yet the teen wasn't alone as on either side of her were Kairi and Riku, both of whom were looking at her silently. "Are you sure this is alright?" Sora asked, turning to her two friends one after the other.

"Of course." Riku said silently, his eyes briefly drifting to the girl's still silver hair and black wing.

Him very clearly not being used to these new features, yet he quickly returned his friend's gaze as Kairi added to his words. "Everyone agreed that you should have a break. I mean, I don't think you've really had one since we left the island over a year ago." she said with a soft, but rather sheepish smile on her features.

"Besides...all of the others can handle things for now. So just enjoy yourself and have some fun." she continued, patting Sora on the shoulder gently.

"Plus, Yen Sid said you wouldn't really be able to fight for the next day or two. So lets leave things in their hands and work on boosting our 'fun gauge' as you once put it." Riku claimed, which made the other two turn to him with a blinking gaze and gain wide smiles.

"Oh whatever, I'm here to have fun too." he stated firmly as his friends laughed softly.

The girls then took either of his hands and pulled him along the golden-colored street. Them going to a large number of stalls, each of which being run by an assortment of anthropomorphic animals. These ranging from cows and bulls, to dogs and birds. However, each of them sounded very jovial when greeting the trio, making it even more enjoyable to simply shop around. As they did, every shop owner seemed to make mention of a 'Million Dreams Award' being given to one lucky person at the end of the day.

This sparked the three's interests as they carried around everything they had bought. Which were mostly either souvenirs or snacks of some kind. The latter being the majority, yet it was still a small portion of the amount they almost got. Them only getting a fifth of what they were originally going to buy, mainly due to Riku's reminder of; "King Mickey did mention having at least a little restraint with his money."

Despite pouting to him and making a few comments of him being a 'party pooper', they agreed to this. But as they walked down the street with ice creams in each of their hands, they saw a large poster saying 'Race Track' and an arrow pointing directly ahead. As the trio glanced to one another, they just shared a silent nod and immediately rushed forward. None of them noticing a large figure watching them and slowly following after.

After coming up to the track and seeing all of the karts race by, they went to one of the clerks and requested to be in the next race. "Alright, and your names?" the clerk questioned with a tilt of their chicken head.

"Sora...Riku...and Kairi." the silver-haired boy answered with a small smirk.

They then received their passes and headed into the crowded stands, there only being seats at the very top. But as they each sat down to watch the current race, they took this opportunity to finish their ice cream. Along with this, the three also picked out a car and racer they each wanted to see win. This only serving to bring out even more of their competitive streak as they cheered and booed with much of the crowd around them.

"Come on! You can pass him!" Riku called out to the large screen that showed the race from a top view.

"Don't let him get around you! Stay to the right!" Kairi yelled, her cupping both hands around her mouth to enhance the sound.

All the while, Sora huffed silently as her driver was in last place by the end, despite being in first earlier on. "That's just not fair." she muttered with puffed cheeks.

Kairi patted her on the shoulder with a soft giggle; "Well, none of our racers won anyway. But now this means you can choose that same kart and get first place with it." she said in an encouraging manner, to which Sora smiled and nodded her head.

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Riku claimed as they each headed toward the track, now that it was their turn.

"Bring it on, this wing is just gonna make me more aerodynamic!" Sora declared, to which her friends smiled a bit more.

"We'll see about that." the silver-haired boy said as they each got into their respective karts and moved them into position to start.

The moment the light turned green, the three took off driving along with many others. Though Sora started at the back, and Kairi in the center, they both quickly caught up to Riku at the front of the pack. Each of them driving side-by-side for a while as they all glanced to each other. Yet they then shifted into high gear and began their true race. All of the three letting out a cheer as they pulled ahead of the other racers.

Despite being about even with one another for a while, Sora slowly began to pull ahead as her silver hair flowed behind her. Them completing one full lap before she took the lead, which now left less than two full laps to go before they would get to the finish line. But as they drove, Riku slowly began to catch up to his friend. "You're not gonna win 'that' easily!" he called out over the winds and kart engines.

Immediately following this, the boy took the lead once they rounded a turn as he moved to the inside before Sora could. Said girl huffed and just sped up, to which she glances to one of her mirrors as Kairi was right behind her. It also being now that she took notice of another kart approaching them; "Guess there is another fast driver." she muttered to herself with a grin.

It wasn't long however, that the three heard a familiar laugh. "Ha ha ha ha~! Captain Dark has returned after a decade! And will finally claim that Million Dreams Award for himself!" Pete called out, driving his kart up and around Kairi.

Sora looked over her shoulder to the large cat, to which she blinked a few times. "Not if we get it first!" she called out as a small grin curled her lips.

The teen appearing even more excited, yet there was a strange feeling inside of her that she couldn't explain. But she just continued on racing, to which both she and Pete over took Riku by the middle of the last lap. "I might have missed out before, but once everyone sees my awesome driving skills...they'll have to vote for me!" Pete declared, patting his chest with one hand and steering with the other.

Said cat's clothing being much different than normal as the three finally took notice of the black, purple and red uniform he had on. There even being what looked to be either a red up-side down 'J', or 'P', on the forehead part of his outfit. "Then I'll finally get to see what the award is!" he continued as the three teens almost stopped in their tracks from this.

However, as they continued driving, they all turned to Pete with an exasperated expression. "You mean you're trying to get something, when you don't even know what it even is?" Riku questioned, blinking many times as they all drove in a cluster with one another.

"It doesn't matter what it is! So long as I'm the one who gets it!" was all Pete responded with, him slowly picking up even more speed.

As he did, the three glanced from the track ahead before one another. Upon doing so, they then shared a quick look of understanding and moved in toward Pete. Their karts forming a triangle around his with one on either side, as well as one directly behind. Once in position, they then began forcing him ever so slightly to the center of the track. "Huh?" he uttered out, looking to each of them as he wasn't able to safely get away.

"H-Hey...whaddya think you're doin?" Pete questioned in confusion, his gaze shifting from one teen to the next.

But he quickly saw where he was heading, making him gulp down and quickly try to get away. Him pushing his kart from side to side, but none of the teens were budging to let him get away. "Th-This isn't fair!" he called out while looking to the split in the road, which avoided a drop into what they all knew to be a mud pit.

Even as he tried to stop his kart, Sora simply pushed him along with her own. The front of her kart going underneath the back of Pete's, causing his back wheels to lift off the ground and simply spin. "W-Wait! I'm supposed to wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin!" Pete yelled, him riding right over the edge of the track and into the mud pit below.

Sora turning herself away at the last second and continued on with the race, to which the cat called out to them while covered in a bit of mud. "I'll get you all for this! Captain Dark never forgets!" he declared as the three eventually crossed the finish line.

Despite Riku winning, Sora simply smiled widely as if she had been the one to do so. "Guess that makes it 12-43-12, huh?" she hummed out with a wink.

Though the silver-haired boy blinked briefly, he slowly gained a smile of his own and nodded. "I guess it does."

As they collected their trophies and moved into the main square, they were greeted by much of the town's folk. All of whom were congratulating them on not just on the race, but also their effort in making sure Pete didn't win. Them talking about how he had come back into town and assumed an old disguise in order to win the Million Dreams Award.

"He did mention that." Kairi uttered with a slow nod before looking around to everyone once more.

"What even is the Million Dreams Award?" she finished, blinking a few times in her confusion.

"It's simply a special kind of ice cream that goes to the individual voted as being the most popular in town." a sudden voice spoke up as everyone noticed Queen Minnie walking up toward them.

"Your majesty." many of the town's folk uttered while about to take a knee in respect.

"No need to be so formal. I simply wish to offer my own thanks to each of you for making sure Pete didn't get up to too much trouble." she said softly, giving each of the three a smile.

"We were happy to help." Riku said with a smile of his own and quick nod.

Upon hearing this, most of the people around them started calling out their votes for the award. Some saying Riku, others saying Kairi, and the rest saying Sora. But with a hand raised up and gesture to the voting ballot, the queen regained control of the situation. "For all those whom have made up their minds about their votes, please submit them in an orderly fashion." she said in her soft voice, yet there was still a strange amount of authority to it.

The people then formed a line, which lead to a table that held a large box and a large stack of paper strips atop of it. Each individual dropping these small pieces of paper into a slot on the top of the box once they wrote down a name on it. After casting their own votes, the three then moved over to a stall that was selling small necklaces. Many of these being the type that when paired together with one other, the two would created a shape. And despite mainly only having ones that were for two, they did have a three piece necklace that formed a star. Something of which they immediately bought and put on; "To remember this day by." Kairi hummed out happily as they all smiled softly.

Meanwhile, Queen Minnie began tallying the votes as she counted each strip of paper. The town square quickly filling with people as the three remained in the back, where of which they noticed Pete hiding around the corner. Him still wearing his strange outfit, despite it being mostly covered in mud now. Yet as Minnie continued her counting, Sora slowly moved closer to Pete. Kairi and Riku remaining back, as they knew what she was up to.

"Hey." the silver-haired girl spoke up with a wave.

Though Pete turned to her and huffed, he just continued to hide and listen in to the names being spoken. "Quiet. I'm waitin' for my chance to jump in and steal the award from whomever might get it." he stated in a hushed manner.

Sora glanced from him, to the crowd gathered, and then back to Pete. "Well, whatever the case may be...I wanna thank you." she said, a soft smile curling her lips.

"Huh?" the large cat hummed out, him being quite shocked from these words.

"I've been so caught up with saving the worlds, fighting the Organization and dealing with things that should give me nightmares for the rest of my life." she started, yet it simply made Pete blink many times in confusion.

"However, today was just what I needed to realize that I shouldn't be afraid of being my silly and fun-loving self. As well as remembering that no matter how bad things might get, it's always worth the struggle..." Sora continued, just before Minnie announced that the winner was the silver-haired girl herself.

"...it's always worth the struggle to see the smiling faces of my friends, and even my 'enemies'." she finished, offering a wink to Pete as she moved to the front of the square.

Where of which the queen was waiting with a cone of ice cream in her hand. "Congratulations Sora, you are this year's winner of the Million Dreams Award~!" she called out before clapping her hands together along with the others in the square.

"Thank you everyone. This has been the best day I've had in such a long time, and I'm grateful for each and every one of you making it that way." she said while looking to the ice cream.

"And while this looks really good, I'd like to share this with someone whom I think might need it more than me." Sora continued, moving back toward Pete as he looked at her in a bit of shock.

Despite his initial desire to just run off, he ended up staying and watching the girl come up to him and offer the ice cream in her hand. "You should hurry and have some, before it melts." she said softly with her signature smile.

The cat blinked more and more from this, to which he then glanced around to everyone staring in an almost wondering manner. Obviously curious as to what his answer and next actions would be. And while Pete lifted his hand up as if to smack the ice cream away, he paused when looking at the teen's gaze. Her eyes being filled with happiness and a genuine desire to see him happy as well. This being something he hadn't seen in a long time, yet he quickly cleared his throat and huffed soon after.

"Hmph! As if I'd wanna eat something so girly lookin'!" he said in his normal brash tone, all while crossing his arms and looking away.

"But I guess if you ask me real nicely...I'd..be willing to have a bite." Pete continued, yet in a much more silent and sheepish voice than before.

Sora giggled softly and nodded her head; "Would you like to share this with me, please?" she hummed as Pete looked to her and groaned, knowing that his reputation as a villain would greatly lower after this.

However, after sharing the ice cream together and the town cheering for this, Pete quickly rushed off in embarrassment. "I-I'll get you back for this!" he claimed when running away.

The silver-haired girl smiled and waved at him, to which she then turned to her friends as they approached. "Thanks you guys." she said happily.

"I'm glad you were both with me today." Sora whispered before moving up to the pair and just hugging them.

Though Riku and Kairi blinked briefly, they returned this hug in a gentle manner. However, their eyes widened slightly as they saw a soft white glow emanate from around Sora. It being something that Kairi knew all too well as the power of Light, yet Sora herself didn't even notice as she kept hugging her best friends.

* * *

 **This is a chapter I've been wanting to write for a while, simply due to how light-hearted and fun it is. I was literally smiling almost the entire time I wrote this. So I hope all of you enjoyed and will let me know what you thought. Until next time.**


	65. Gaia part I

**Sorry that this chapter was late. There wasn't much of an excuse other than the fact that I kept putting this one off since I've started getting writer's block lately. I apologize if this one seems lack-luster, I'll try to make things better going forward...but I might need a bit of a break soon. Anyway, onto the chapter.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 64: Gaia part I

"So..." Sora began, the girl sitting in a metal chair as she looked a bit uncomfortably around the room.

It being an office with plain white walls, which reminded the teen of Castle Oblivion a little too much. But the thing that helped to separate the two locations was the large window directly across from her. The view revealing a beautiful and lush forest just beyond, as well as a small stream flowing through. This window also being behind the desk that Rufus was currently sitting behind. Said man remaining in his wheelchair as he seemed to gaze at the girl from under the white cloth.

"...what am I here for?" Sora finished while shifting her eyes back to Rufus.

"You're 'here'..." Rufus began, gesturing to the room around them; "...so that I can explain the situation to you in a more private spot."

"As for why you're here in this world, well...it's a bit more complicated." the man stated, slowly bringing out a tan folder from one of the desk's drawers.

He then slid this across the table and toward Sora at the other end. Said teen lifted the parchment into her hand and flipped it open to read the contents within. "There is a pandemic cycling through this world, a disease we've come to call; Geostigma." Rufus said as he lifted his head up slightly so that his right blue eye was visible.

However, Sora' attention was focused on a picture within the folder, which depicted a massive meteor in the sky. "What is 'this' all about?" she questioned, briefly looking to Rufus.

Whom didn't even need to see what she was looking at in order to know what she was likely talking about. "It actually ties into the whole reason why we're dealing with this disease in the first place." he started, letting out a sigh in the process.

"A couple years back, a meteor containing Jenova cells began to fall on the city of Midgar. But thanks to the planet's Lifestream emerging and pushing it back, we were saved." Rufus continued, a faint expression of relief crossing his features.

"Of course, because Jenova's cells are quite alien to this world, some parts of the Lifestream had been infected. And so, anyone who comes in contact with this tainted Lifestream, contracts Geostigma." the man finished while placing both hands together and under his chin.

Sora gazed to him briefly before looking through the papers in the folder once more, much of which simply confirmed Rufus' story. However, she could tell that there were things either changed or intentionally left out since it all seemed too 'blameless'. "So...what is this 'Lifestream' you're talking about?" she asked in an almost absentminded manner.

"It's an ethereal substance that streams beneath the surface of our planet. It has been said to contain the essence of the planet, as well as the memories, emotions, and knowledge of all who have lived on it." Rufus explained, making Sora just nod her head in response.

Though the girl still had her eyes on the folder, she seemed to have absorbed all the information he just told her. "I see." she hummed out before finally closing the folder and placing it back on the desk.

"So your plan is to have me come into contact with the Lifestream so that it might be possibly help cure the people whom have it, and prevent future infected." Sora continued, looking to the now somewhat shocked expression on Rufus' face.

"It's a pretty simple plan, so it's not hard to figure out...but I'm curious to know if it'll really work." the silver-haired teen said, shrugging both shoulders and leaning back in her seat.

"I can't imagine that it would actually accept me, you know...considering that I not only have the cells inside of me as well, but also the fact that I'm not from this world." she finished with a slight tilt of her head in curiosity.

"It's true...we don't know if this plan will work, but there isn't much left we can do." Rufus answered, letting out a heavy sigh in the process.

After these words, Sora glanced down to his exposed hands and narrowed both eyes. There being faint black patches of skin that appeared sickly in a very clear and obvious way. "You're one of the people infected...aren't you?" she asked in a serious tone as she knew it was best to be blunt with this.

Despite retracting his hands under the white cloth, Rufus slowly nodded and pulled this sheet off. This revealing the blond man with a white suit, as well as wrappings that covered his neck and left eye. "Indeed I am." is all he stated, to which the girl nodded her head slowly.

"Alright then, where is the closest area in which I can come into contact with the Lifestream?" Sora asked crossing both arms under her chest.

Rufus raised a brow briefly before chuckling lightly with a small smirk; "They told me you were the type to help others, but it's surprising that you would accept without hearing of any sort of reward." he said, giving a glance toward the only entrance in the room.

There being noticeable shadows in the crack under the door, which showed the blond that there were people listening in on their conversation. "Well...I suppose if you're willing to help, I'll simply have the ones behind the door escort you to where you need to go." the man claimed, leading to a clattering of footsteps as the shadows disappeared.

Rufus chuckled once more as he turned to Sora; "I'll give you a couple of my Turks to help you on your way." he said, to which he then stood up out of his wheelchair and moved toward the door.

As the silver-haired girl watched him, she stood to her feet and just seemed to stare at the man. 'I don't like the fact that he's so hard to get a read on. Maleficent is good at manipulation, but she's also obvious in her intention. Yet this guy has the air of; 'I do the right thing, but for the wrong reasons'. Though...I guess so long as it's actually the right thing, it's alright for me to help.' she thought silently, all while moving together with Rufus outside of the office.

They then approached another room that looked almost like a small cafeteria, where four individuals were sitting. But while two were easy to pick out, these being Reno and Rude, the other two weren't familiar at all. The first of them was a tall man with dark brown eyes, shoulder-length black hair and a tilak in the middle of his forehead. Meanwhile, the other was a young woman with a small stature, brown eyes, and neck-length blond hair that was longer on one side. Both of them were wearing the same black suits as the other two, yet the woman had high-heel boots, instead of the normal shoes.

Each of these four were huddled around a table with what looked to be cups of coffee in their hands. "Now then...which of you would like to go with Sora to the known openings of the Lifestream?" Rufus questioned as he glanced around to the group.

"O-Oh...is that what you guys were talking about? I had no idea." Reno hummed out in a sheepish tone and matching expression, him quickly stirring his unchanging coffee.

This caused the other three to groan silently and sigh; "Don't bother Reno." Rude muttered, rubbing both eyes from under his sunglasses.

"Fine fine." the red-haired man muttered, to which he glanced around to the other three.

"So I guess two of us should go with her while the other two stay behind with the boss?" he continued while shrugging his shoulders briefly.

"Sounds good to me." Rude responded as he crossed his arms and looked to Rufus himself as if asking if that was agreeable with him.

Said man merely nodded his head and moved to the side, where a coffee maker could be seen. "Do as you like." was all he commented, pouring himself a cup of the brown liquid.

"Alright, well since Rude and I have the most experience with hanging out with Sora, we should be the ones to go. Tseng and Elena can stay here." Reno claimed while gesturing to each person he mentioned.

"But I wanted to go out and finally get to do something." the blond woman claimed in an exasperated manner.

"You already went out on the scouting mission." Tseng said, his tone being a serious one that seemed to be 'all business'.

"Yeah...a week ago." Elena countered in a somewhat deadpan voice, making the others go silent for a moment.

However, they then started back up with talked about how often each of them actually go out for their missions. This leading for Sora to just slowly turn to Rufus as he sat in a seat across the room and began drinking his coffee. The expression the man gave her was one of; 'Yes, they do this a lot' as he crossed his legs. The teen let out a breath and walked toward Rufus once more; "I am curious about something though." she started, raising a brow in the process.

"Hmm? And what's that?" the blond man questioned, all while stirring a bit of extra cream he poured into his drink.

"Why are you on such unfriendly terms with everyone?" Sora finished as she sat down across from Rufus in an intentional way.

Though he paused in stirring his cup for a brief moment, the man then let out a soft chuckle. "Lets just say it's a difference in how we envision the future." he started in an avoiding, yet still honest tone.

"Like most people, they view most types of 'progression' as being too steep a price and only accept things as they are. Where as I saw a path to bettering things, even if it created some hardships along the way." Rufus continued as his gaze slowly drifted from his coffee, to meet Sora's eyes.

"No step forward comes without requiring some kind of sacrifice, I simply understood that better than them." the blond finished, his voice sounding a bit more firm by the end.

"You used a lot of past tense words in that explanation. Does that mean you've changed in how you look at things now?" Sora asked while tilting her head slightly in a curious manner.

Rufus looked to the teen silently before he let out a sigh and slowly smiled. "You're quite quick to pick up on things like that, huh?" he spoke softly, to which he then gave a slight nod of his head.

"Yes...I have started to view things a bit differently. Even if some of my core beliefs haven't changed, the way I approach things certainly has." the man continued in a somewhat more 'real' tone than before.

This making Sora blink a few times in surprise as she realized that Rufus was finally being genuine with her in that moment. The teen then took on a soft smile and nodded; "Well...so long as it's for the better, I think it's a good change." she claimed with an encouraging tone.

The blond man merely sighed silently and turned his attention to his subordinates, whom had finally finished their conversation. "Are you four ready?" he asked quickly, looking from one to the next.

"Yes sir. We've decided that we will interchange at different markers, just in case some of the previous entry ways have been sealed off." Tseng answered, his voice being respectful while still retaining its strictness.

"Excellent." Rufus said, nodding his head in agreement to this plan; "And where will you be leading her first?"

"We were thinking Mount Nibel." Reno responded while shrugging briefly.

"And if that isn't available, there is always Mideel town." Elena added, making Rufus nod once more.

"Good, at least one of those spots should still be fine to get Sora close to the Lifestream." the blond man stated as the others nodded back and stood up to their feet to salute him.

Sora herself glanced around to the others with a small smirk as she got up as well. "Guess there's no time like the present." she whispered to herself while following Reno and Rude outside.

'It would have been nice to have one of my friends come along, but we all do have our own missions to do...so I guess it's fine. I'm just glad I got to sneak those two with me.' Sora thought silently as a small, yet mischievous grin curled her lips.

* * *

 **I hope all of you enjoyed this 'dialogue heavy' chapter. I guess that's what happens when you have to do a 'introductory' chapter that has all the needed explanations, huh? Anyway, I hope this was somewhat entertaining and all of you will let me know what you thought. Until next time.**


	66. Gaia part II

**I'm really sorry that this was a week late. I didn't intend on it, but I lost power for almost three days. And by that point, I just decided to wait. But since I did have it done on time, I have been working on the next chapter already. Which will be out next week, rather than the week after. I hope that'll make up for this whole thing. Anyway, onto the chapter...I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 65: Gaia part II

Sora let out a silent, yet content sigh as a grin curled her lips. "This is everything I ever hoped it would be." she hummed out softly.

The teen looking out the window of the helicopter she was in, which was currently over a vast ocean. Short blue waves could be seen rising and falling, as well as all matter of sea life swimming either closer or further away from the surface. But rather than the actual flight of the trip, it was more so the fact that she was traveling in a helicopter, that made the girl so excited. Sora almost bouncing slightly, even with the many straps and belts keeping her in the seat. However, they didn't prevent the girl from pressing her face against the window in order to see all that she could on the outside.

"Don't you fly around in one of those Gummi ships all the time?" Rude questioned, looking back to the teen as he was piloting the craft.

"Yeah, but it's the principal of being in a helicopter that makes it way more fun~!" the teen responded gleefully, the smile on her features never fading.

"If you say so." Reno commented, him being next to the bald man at the front of the chopper.

Sora simply giggled lightly as she continued looking out the window, the seriousness of the mission having left her almost immediately after seeing the helicopter itself. The girl's child-like excitement being at the forefront now that there were new and exciting things going on. 'Speaking of the Gummi ship...I hope they're not feeling lonely being left up there for now.' she mused silently to herself, looking up at the sky.

'Although, I am curious about this place we're heading to; Mount Nibel. It sounds both really fancy, but also a little dorky at the same time. And from what they've said, the area we're going to is an abandoned site for a power company of sorts.' the girl continued, her expression turning to a thoughtful one.

There even being a slight hint of suspicion in it, yet she just pushed this to the side as she absentmindedly pulled at the large hooded cloak she was wearing. "So...is this really necessary?" she questioned, adjusting herself in the seat as having the large black wing folded behind her was a little uncomfortable.

"Definitely." Reno started as he flipped a few switches on the controls in front of him.

"You basically look like a younger version of Sephiroth...or at least if he was a woman." the red-haired man continued, yet he seemed to trail off as if creating a mental picture of a female Sephiroth.

"The point is...no one in this world has a fond memory of the man. So it's best to hide those features as best we can, that way we're not causing panic everywhere we go." Rude explained, giving the other man a nudge at the start to snap him out of his thoughts.

"I guess that's fair...but it's still kind of annoying." Sora muttered, her expression turning to a bit of a frown as she looked out the window once more.

However, her grin slowly returned when a large mountain range quickly came into view. "Oh~..." Sora hummed out silently.

Snowy peaks were barely covered by thick grey clouds in the sky, leading down to the lush green plains at the summit. An occasional flash of light could be seen from within these clouds as it was an obvious storm system moving in the direction of the helicopter. "We shouldn't risk flying through a storm." Rude stated firmly as he was already lowering their altitude.

"We can just land inside the Gold Saucer and take a truck the rest of the way." Reno added, all while helping his friend to bring the helicopter closer to the ground as they passed fully over the ocean.

"What's 'the Gold Saucer'?" the silver-haired girl asked with a blinking gaze.

"It's an amusement park. It's pretty much world famous due to its size and variety of entertainment." Rude explained, still keeping his stern tone while his eyes remained on the sky.

"Yeah...the owner is kind of a fickle guy, but he makes for a heck of a drinking buddy." Reno added as he glanced to the teen from over his shoulder.

"Really lives up to his name." the red-haired man continued with a grinning chuckle, to which he then turned back around to look ahead once more.

"What's his name?" Sora questioned, now rather curious about this.

"Dio." is all Reno answered as the wind around the helicopter started to pick up slightly from their ever closing proximity to the storm.

Upon hearing this name, the teen seemed to remember the meaning of it from the Greek language she was taught. 'Dio' derives from the Greek God of wine, which basically told her all she needed to know. "Wryyy..." Sora hummed out thoughtfully, leaning back in her seat.

"Huh?" the bald man muttered, him looking back to the girl for a brief moment.

"Nothing, I just said; 'Really'." the silver-haired teen said, looking out the window to her side.

However, a brief second later after the two men went back to concentrating on flying the helicopter, she suddenly appeared between them. "Wait! Did you say 'amusement park'?!" she called out in a very excited tone.

Immediately following this, the craft began to wobble in the air from the brief fright the girl gave to the men. "I just got back from visiting an amusement park, but it doesn't mean we can't have some more fun~!" the girl continued, her barely being fazed by the instability.

After leveling the craft once more, Rude and Reno gave a strong look to the girl. Whom smiled sheepishly while taking a few steps back; "Sorry about that. And I guess we can always have that fun after we've finished our mission." she said, scratching the back of her head and moving to her seat.

Which had the scattered belts and buckles she released in order to rush up to the pair at the front. Sora then placed these back on, to which she merely waited for them to land in silence. Her feeling a little guilty, yet this was quickly pushed away when a massive structure starting to overshadow the helicopter. It looking like a huge tree with multiple domes on the larger branches, yet almost everything was gold in color.

"Whoa~." Sora hummed out as they flew near of one of the domes and landed on a helicopter pad.

Not long after this, the girl removed her seat belt and rushed out the door. Her gazing around to the remarkable sights of this amusement park. There being the usual roller coaster rides, a ferris wheel, all matter of stalls for food and merchandise, as well as fireworks shooting into the air on occasion. "Cool~." she whispered in her amazement.

All the while, Rude spoke to one of the employees whom came out to greet them. Him talking about renting a truck while making sure to block their view of Sora, whom had forgotten to put the hood of her cloak on. Yet as Reno came up next to her, he quickly lifted the hood onto the teen's head. "I know it's exciting, but you gotta make sure not to forget the hood." he commented while stepping up next to her.

Sora blinked a few times before smiling sheepishly again; "Yeah, I should be more mindful about it." she hummed out, but quickly looked back to the amusement park as spot lights moved through the air in a showcasing-type manner.

"You know...I've been here a number of times, yet it's always pretty awesome." Reno muttered silently as the girl slowly turned her head toward him.

"Any rides you'd recommend?" she asked curiously, yet the red-haired man just grinning widely as if hoping for such a question.

"As a matter-of-fact..." Reno started as he gave quite a lengthy list of things to do or visit at the park.

Though Sora was a little overwhelmed, she still managed to memorize the names of at least half of them. Meanwhile, Rude slowly came over toward them and let out a breath. "He said that we'll have our truck waiting one the ground floor in ten minutes. But it seems that Dio wants to speak with us to deliver a message to Rufus." he explained, leading for the other two to raise a brow in response.

"Wonder if something is going on." Sora muttered as they then headed inside the building itself.

There being a long staircase before they finally reached an elevator, yet the girl had groaned in boredom for much of the trip. "I heard you didn't like walking, but is it really 'that' bad?" Reno asked, leaning against the elevator wall after they all got inside.

"Of course it is~!" Sora exclaimed with a pout.

"Not only is it long and boring...but it reminds me of going to school." she continued while shivering, as if it brought back terrible memories.

After hearing this, the two men and even the teenage employee simply sighed heavily in response. Sora huffed to each of them and looked to the side with another pout. Though, the employee soon started to stare at the girl for a few moments before looking away when he thought he might be caught. Despite him not being able to see much of her, just seeing her face was enough to bring a light flush to his cheek. Sora herself didn't even notice this until the moment the elevator reached the ground floor. "Hmm? Do I have something on my face?" she asked, yet only received a quick shake of the boy's head before the elevator doors opened.

Of which had revealed a large and very muscular man, whom almost looked like wrestler by only wearing a pair of tight shorts. He had very tan skin, short black hair and a handle-bar mustache that lead into his side-burns. "Welcome friends, to the Gold Saucer. I am Dio, the owner of this establishment." the man began, his voice being rather jovial while looking to each of them.

"Your truck is already waiting for you outside, but I wish to speak to you about a very serious subject before you depart." Dio continued, him seeming to become rather serious almost immediately.

"Very well, if it's something within our power." Rude responded, to which the muscular man nodded his head and turned toward his employee.

"Thank you for leading them to me, I'll take it from here." he said as the teen boy moved back into the elevator to take it back to the top, though not without taking one last glance at Sora.

Once the doors had closed, the man lead the three to the side where not many people were gathered. He then let out a heavy sigh when turning to face the group; "I understand that whatever you're doing here is likely an urgent mission. But there have been a great number of monster attacks as of late. And I'm unable to guarantee my guests' safety because of them. So I'm hoping that you might be able to send some people over here to help out." Dio said, him almost seeming to be pleading with the two other men.

Both of whom let out their own sigh before shrugging; "Unfortunately there aren't many of us, and those who are...don't have the power or equipment to deal with a large number of monsters." Rude said, shrugging his shoulders in his usual bluntly honest tone.

"What about the WRO? Shouldn't they be able to handle this sort of thing?" Reno commented, shrugging his shoulders briefly in the process.

"We already asked for their help, but they're spread too thin and can't spare any soldiers to come here." Dio answered, tilting his head down as if trying to think of what to do now.

"What's the 'WRO'?" Sora whispered while looking to Rude.

"It's short for World Regenesis Organization, it basically protects the people from these kinds of threats. But if even they can't send people here, there must be something big going on over there." the bald man respond silently.

"Well, Reeve was the one whom founded the whole thing, so if there is something...then it's gotta be pretty serious." Reno added, there being a strange combination of both admiration and resentment in his voice.

Sora raised a brow once more as she turned her gaze to Dio, whom as looking down in deep thought. "I'll take care of these monsters." she claimed while offering a small grin.

The large man shifted his gaze to her hooded form in confusion, to which he tilted his head to the side slightly. "Are you sure you can handle something like this? I don't want anyone getting killed over my request...I'll close the amusement park if I must." Dio stated, yet Sora instantly shook her head.

This almost knocking the loose hood off her head, yet it remained in place without revealing her hair. "No...this place doesn't just provide entertainment, but also hope. Hope that even when bad things happen, happiness and joy can persevere. So keep this place open...I promise to take care of all these monsters and make sure everyone stays safe." Sora declared, sounding almost too inspirational with this speech.

But Dio had small tears welling up in his eyes before he sniffed and nodded his head. "You're right...I shall simply look forward to the report of your success." he claimed, wiping these unfallen tears from his eyes and began leading them toward the exit.

Sora grinned a bit more as she followed, yet Reno and Rude simply sighed when doing the same. "We already have an important mission, you know." the latter of the two whispered to the teen.

"True, but I can't just leave these people unprotected. What good is it to save the world...if you don't help the individuals in it?" the girl asked rhetorically, making Rude blink a few times from behind his sunglasses.

"You just don't want this place to be closed on our way back." Reno commented while crossing his arms.

"Hey...that's only my secondary reason." Sora retorted, pouting as she did.

Though, this was enough to make the bald man sigh as she almost had him fully convinced of her pureness.

* * *

 **And there you have it, Sora has a new target for where to go for having fun. But for now she's on the hunt for monsters. Are they the Heartless? Nobodies? Or possibly the Unversed?! Or maybe they're just the normal monsters of this world? How would she handle them? Find out next time. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter, even if it was a bit dialogue heavy. Let me know what you thought and until next time.**


	67. Gaia part III

**As promised, the next chapter of the story with only the one week wait. ;) Hope all of you enjoy.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 66: Gaia part III

"Wooooohooooo~!" Sora sang out in glee, her standing up in the roofless truck they were driving in.

Though her hood had been blow fully off, there weren't any people around to see the girl's long silver hair flowing in the strong wind. The group heading toward the slope of the mountain where a road was visible in the dirt. There also being a forest that was visible in the distance, which made the girl all the more excited as she knew what she would do upon arriving there. "I can't wait." she hummed out silently as she held a wide smile on her features.

All the while, Reno glanced back to her with a chuckle as he looked forward. The red-haired man placing both hands behind his head and crossing his feet on top of the vehicle's dashboard. "She's quite the never ending firecracker, huh?" he commented to Rude, whom was driving the truck.

However, the bald man had a narrowed gaze from behind his sunglasses, which was obvious to Reno as he raised a brow in curiosity. "What's up?" he asked, tilting his head slightly to the side.

"Something doesn't seem right." Rude began, his eyes scanning the area ahead and around them.

"It's way too quiet." he continued, both hands gripping the steering wheel a bit tighter as he was clearly on edge.

"We're in the area Dio said the monsters had been showing up, yet I haven't seen a single one yet." the man finished, the truck's speed remaining constant the whole way.

"You think he was lying?" Reno questioned, his tone being a bit more serious now.

"No." Rude answered, looking around a bit slower for a moment.

"But all things considered, this would be the perfect area for a-" he continued, yet was instantly cut off when an eruption of earth jettisoned upward directly in front of them. The bald man immediately slammed on the breaks and turning to the side, allowing them to avoid the monster's slashing claws through the dirt cloud.

"...an ambush." Rude finished as he quickly parked and exited the truck along with Reno.

The pair readying their nightstick tasers while facing away from one another. "Probably gonna need maximum setting for this one, huh?" Reno commented as the pair pushed a small switch near the grip as high as possible.

This causing the weapons to emit a soft humming and even a few sparks at the top. The two then moved back-to-back as they watched a series of monsters emerge from what they could only guess were tunnels underneath the ground. Many being animalistic in form, yet with over-exaggerated features. Most of which were the predator-like ones, such as larger teeth, vastly longer claws and more muscular bodies to deal stronger attacks.

"I'm pretty sure this might be a little out of our depth." the red-haired man muttered silently as he glanced around quickly.

"Not out of mine." Sora spoke up as she flipped herself out of the truck and beside the two.

"Don't worry, just stay close to me and these guys won't give you any trouble." the teen claimed with a wide grin, her back facing them as she spoke.

She then reached out and placed either hand upon theirs, which allowed a flow of magic energy to fill their bodies. This being similar to what she had done to Mulan and Ariel, were she helped to unlock their magic potential. Though neither of the men seemed very thrilled about needing protection from a child, they still accepted this with a nod. Something Sora seemed to sense as she grinned slightly wider, all while holding out a hand to summon her Keyblade. However...nothing appeared. "Huh?" the girl uttered while looking her hand.

Yet she quickly had to duck out of the way from a werewolf-like monster as it slashed its claws toward her. "Um...okay, bad new guys." Sora started as the three moved to the side in order to gain some distance from a group of the monsters that came toward them.

"Oh great...I knew something was gonna go wrong." Reno commented as he quickly shocked one of the smaller, insect-like creatures as it flew at his face.

This blow doing a great deal more damage than normal, the electricity that surged from the stick also carried a large amount of magic as well. This being the same for Rude as he also used his weapon to shock a lion-like beast that slashed at his legs. "What is it?" the bald man asked quickly without even looking at the teen.

"I can't summon my Keyblade." the girl continued, all while flipping her wrist in order to try and get the weapon to come out.

"Oh fantastic." the red-haired man groaned in a deadpan tone, him ducking at the same time as Rude while the tail of a tentacled rat lashed at both their heads.

"So now what?" the man in sunglasses asked quickly while attempting to shock this creature, yet it nimbly moved out of his reach.

Sora glanced to the two for a moment before down to her right hand as a series of electric sparks encircled around her fingers. Soon after, she moved toward the werewolf monster and held her hand out toward its chest at point-blank range. An instant lightning bolt later, the creature was practically incinerated. "Guess my magic will have to do for now." she claimed with a small grin curling her lips.

On the inside however, the girl was beginning to panic a great deal. 'Oh gosh! What am I gonna do?! If I can't use the Keyblade, I can't save the worlds! I can't seal the darkness away! And now I won't even be able to unlock my house door in case I forget my spare key at Kairi's house again!' she thought quickly while flinging a few fire balls to the gathering crowd of monsters around them.

Many of them being turned to ash, yet even more simply took their place as these mutated beasts seemed very determined to kill and likely eat them. "Well, at least we have a fighting chance." Reno said, him letting out a breath in relief from the fact that they might not die.

Something of which Rude just nodded his head to a few times, him also being nervous the moment Sora mentioned her predicament. Though, he made sure to keep all of those worries inside, as to not let the others see his panicking. All the while, Sora glanced to each of the two with a small smile as she was doing her best to keep all her own hysteria internalized.

Though, she then waved a hand to the two as protective spells shimmered over their forms. 'That should do. Although, it's a little strange...' she began in her mind, all while using a wall of fire to incinerate dozens of beasts and to block dozens more.

'I'm just throwing these spells around so easily, yet I don't really feel my magic reserves going down at all. It's like how I felt when using my Wisdom form, but...better.' Sora continued in a thoughtful manner.

However, she then glanced toward a large group of monsters coming toward her, almost all of them looking like dinosaurs in some way or another. "Aw man...I don't wanna kill dinosaurs." she muttered with a pout as she created a massive wave of ice magic that froze all of these creatures in an instant.

"That should do." she uttered just before a huge rhinoceros-shaped monster smashed through the ice and reduced all the other beasts into tiny shards.

"Oh come on!" Sora whined out with a huff as she readied to take the rhino's ram head on.

"I'll make you pay for making the dinosaurs go extinct again." she muttered out silently, despite a small pout being visible on her features.

It not being till the last second that the teen noticed she couldn't call upon the darkness like normal. "Oh cra-" she started, yet was cut off as the horn was now just centimeters from her.

Sora instinctively brought both hands out and tensed her whole body as if to try and catch this blow at the last second. Her even closing both eyes in the process before she felt the impact of the rhino's horn it her palms. But unlike what she was expecting, the blow didn't feel very strong. After opening her eyes, the girl blinked in surprise when she saw the horn in her hands as the monster was struggling to free itself. "Whoa..." she uttered softly while glancing down to notice that her feet had dug into the ground quite deeply.

This showing that despite the impact indeed being quite strong, she was able to handle it with ease, even without the darkness to boost her physical strength. "Okay, this is actually pretty cool." she whispered before gripping the rhino's horn harder and fully throwing the creature to the side.

The massive body hitting and crushing many of the other monsters, whom weren't able to get out of the way in time. Meanwhile, the silver-haired teen looked to her hands and flexed them slightly. 'Wow...these cells are actually way more impressive than I was giving them credit for. Even my physical strength is higher than in my Valor form. It's like I can naturally do a lot more without needing to boost myself up through the power of darkness, or even magical means.' she mused silently with a small grin, yet it slowly faded as her gaze drifted to her right hand.

'But it's still strange of why I can't use the Keyblade.' the girl continued, her actually feeling like she's lost a dear friend.

"Hey! Focus!" Reno called out as he and Rude rushed toward and past her.

"H-Huh?" she uttered before noticing the strangely fast moving crocodile monster chasing after the pair.

Its massive jaws being wide open as they readied to snap down on the teen. Whom let out a quick yelp and shot a bolt of lightning down its throat out of reflex. "Kyaa!"

After this electricity surged through the beast, it immediately fell limply to the ground. There now being only a few dozen enemies remaining as their numbers had dwindled quite a bit in a short amount of time. Once the remaining monsters realized this, they actually appeared to determine that this 'prey' was too much for them to handle and began fleeing toward the open tunnels in the ground. "Oh no you don't." Sora claimed before lifting a hand back and swinging it downward.

The moment her fist collided with the earth, this land began to shake violently and everyone in a few hundred meters to instantly fall over, including the creatures. Though, while some still managed to reach the holes, they found that each one had been caved in from the force of Sora's strike. But by the time they saw this, the girl had already lifted her other hand up into the air. "Magnega." she muttered, creating a massive grey vortex of magic that pulled almost all of the monsters into it.

Instantly after they gathered, a burst of exploding white magic reduced the beasts to ash. "Well...I think that turned out pretty well all things considered." Sora claimed, placing both hands to her hips.

Though, both Reno and Rude were looking at her with a raised brow as they just heard the girl's 'famous' yelp. And just like what they were told, she tried to pass it off like it never happened. Yet they simply shrugged and sighed. "I guess so." the bald man uttered out in an exasperated manner.

But as they silently celebrated their victory, Sora glanced to the side and noticed that a few of the monsters had gotten away. Them heading closer to the mountain, where a waterfall could be seen in the same direction. Something that made her blink a few times, as she didn't notice it before when they were driving in the truck. "Hold on...I'll get those ones really quick. I can't say that I made good on my promise if they're not all taken care of." she claimed while rushing after the creatures at great speed.

"Remember the hood if you see anyone!" Reno called out quickly to the teen, knowing there was no stopping, nor catching up with her.

As Sora came toward the beasts, she noticed that they actually moved behind the waterfall itself. "Oh come on." she groaned, slowly approaching the large pool the water was falling in to.

It being a rather beautiful sight as the trees had grown near the edges of this small lake and marked the beginning of the forest. "Guess I can bring them down now." she whispered while lifting a hand up.

However, she paused in her actions when three gunshots were suddenly heard from the other side of the waterfall. Sora's eyes widened to this as she quickly lifted her hood up and started coming closer toward the falling water. 'That doesn't sound good.' she thought quickly, moving to a small ridge that lead behind the water and to a tunnel beyond.

While reaching the tunnel, Sora paused as to listen carefully. Yet she very nearly yelped once more as one more gunshot loudly echoed off the walls now all around her. Sora then took in and let out a deep breath as she moved further through the tunnel until she reached a massive cavern. It being covered in all manner of crystals jutting out of the walls, ceiling and floor. But the biggest one was in the center as it was more like a pillar going from the roof to the ground. "Whoa~..." she hummed aloud without even realizing.

Her voice being instantly noticed, leading for a streak of red to move directly in front of her. There being a brief flash of a triple barreled gun as it came right up toward Sora's face. This made the girl quickly grab the wrist of the hand holding the gun and move her head to the side. All the while, she also came closer to the figure and brought her free fist up toward their neck. Her hand crackling with electric magic as she gazed into the deep crimson eyes of a man staring back at her. Him having flipped the gun from his right hand before catching it in his left, allowing him to pointed it at Sora's head once more.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" the man demanded in a deep voice that basically commanded the teen's answer.

"I'm Sora...and I came in here to kill the monsters that tried to get away. Who are you and why did you suddenly point a gun at me?" she demanded, not showing an ounce of hesitation in this stand off.

"Vincent Valentine...and I came here for my own personal reasons." he stated as they two glare at one another.

Though, this only made Vincent's eyes slowly widen before narrowing again when he remembered whose eyes they reminded him of. "Sephiroth..." he muttered as his finger began pulling down on the trigger slightly.

* * *

 **Well that first meeting could have gone better, but it's about right for Vincent I'd say. Anyway, yeah...Sora can't use the Keyblade when the Jenova cells are active. As for why, you'll find out. But for now, I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter and will let me know what you thought of it. Until next time.**


	68. Gaia part IV

**Sorry this is a week and a day late. A lot of stuff has happened and a lot of bad luck. But good news is, I have more time to work on the story, so I can got back to the one chapter each week schedule again...at least for a little while. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy. :)**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 67: Gaia part IV

Water dripped down from the cavern's ceiling, each one echoing around the two figures locked in their stances. The roaring waterfall further back, sounding like a soft hum in the background as the pair glared heavily at one another. Vincent's crimson eyes narrowing a bit further upon the teen as they all but radiated his killing intent.

Sora on the other hand, her own glaring eyes seemed to only give off a sense of confusion and defensiveness. Of which slowly lead for the man's eyes to soften, as well as for his finger to release the tension on his gun's trigger. "You have no killing intent. So you're not a remnant or clone of Sephiroth." he uttered silently while holstering the triple barrel gun.

The silver-haired teen blinked a few times as she lowered both arms and allowed the magic around her right hand to dissipate. "Is...Is that a common problem?" she questioned in a somewhat confused tone.

"Not typically...no." Vincent responded in an almost deadpan manner, though it was hard to tell.

"So your name is Sora...and you came here because of the monsters. But what else are you here for?" he continued, his eyes still remaining mostly narrowed on the girl.

Whom looked him over for a moment before she then just gained her signature smile. "Well, I'm here to help save the world." she claimed in a simple, yet confident manner that made the man raise a brow in response.

Thought Vincent remained silent, he was noticeably analyzing Sora's intention, his eyes never leaving hers. "I see." he whispered after a few second, slowly nodding his head in a satisfied manner.

"And how do you intend on accomplishing that?" Vincent questioned while simply gazing to the teen, him sounding almost like an interrogator thanks to his voice.

"I was asked to try and get rid of the Geostigma disease that has been spreading." Sora responded as her rather upbeat tone completely disregarded the raven-haired man's sternness.

"Well...I guess it's not really a disease, and it doesn't really spread." she continued, her now looking down in thought as to recall all the information that was given to her.

However, Vincent's eyes narrowed slowly on her before making a quick scan of the area around them. "I see...and whom requested this task upon you?" he asked, both eyes focusing on the teen once more as his tone still remained firm.

Sora blinked a few times to him before she shrugged her shoulders; "Rufus Shinra." she answered in a simple manner, not seeing any reason to lie.

The raven-haired man looked at her silently for a brief moment once more, yet merely let out a silent breath. "I should have figured." he muttered, his tone sounding slightly more annoyed, yet it was hard to tell.

But it was still noticed by the girl as she cleared her throat, hoping to change the subject with her next question. "So what about you? Just who are you really? You know...outside of 'Vincent Valentine'." she questioned, but immediately groaned while muttering how cool his name is.

Said man looked at her in a way that felt as though he was gazing into her very soul, as he instantly deduced that she didn't want to talk about Rufus. Whether it was due to not trusting Vincent yet, or possibly not wishing to distrust Rufus' words...it was unclear. But he merely pushed this to the side for now as he could also tell the teen did want to know more about him. "I'm no one special. I simply help out wherever I can." he answered silently, his voice seeming a bit less guarded than before.

"But...to be honest, I don't really go out of my way to do things. I usually only help when people come my way...or when I'm directly involved." Vincent continued as Sora could only stare with a blinking gaze.

"So, you'd help me if I asked?" she questioned suddenly, her smile slowly returning and eventually becoming a grin as the man paused from these words.

"I suppose I might." he responded, leading for Sora to grin even wider and nod.

"I would definitely be very grateful for your help." the teen claimed in a rather excited manner, which Vincent was vaguely used to.

The raven-haired man let out a silent breath, closed both eyes and tilted his head down. "Before I agree however..." he started before opening his eyes and lifting his gaze to meet the girl's.

"...why do you look like ...'this'?" Vincent inquired as his tone had returned to being firm once again.

Sora actually smirked lightly to this, her knowing this question would come at some point as she removed the hood. The long silver locks flowing down over each shoulder and over her back, like so many threads gently falling through the air. Her slit-shaped pupils thinning slightly, readjusting in the darkness of the cave. But as they focused on Vincent, they slowly widened to a more normal shape. Seeing all of this however, caused the man to instinctively twitch his hand toward the gun at his side.

"To be honest...I'm still not entirely sure. But apparently, this 'Sephiroth' had visited my...home at some point in the past. And somehow, a few of his 'Jenova cells' transferred over to me." she began with a heavy breath, her not being used to telling this story yet.

"Over the years, the cells slowly took over my whole body, but they were still dormant. At least until a couple days ago." Sora continued while shivering, obviously not liking the memory of the 'awakening'.

"And thanks to a certain man named; 'Genesis'...they were activated and now I have no idea how to 'turn them off', or even if I can." she finished, shaking her head briefly as if to try and shake away the bad memories.

Vincent silently stared at the teen through this whole explanation, yet he slowly nodded at the end of it. "I see...so you're simply a victim of happenstance." he muttered, almost to himself.

The silver-haired teen tilted her head curiously upon hearing these words as she couldn't tell if he was speaking from his own experience, or from someone else's he witnessed. Yet she chose not to say anything as she placed either hand on her hips and raised an eye brow. "So...was that enough to make your decision?"

Vincent looked from her, before to the large crystal pillar in the center for a long while. Sora blinking once more as she wasn't sure what to do or say as the man just went fully quiet. "I think so." he whispered, shifting his gaze back to the girl with a nod.

This snapped the teen out of her thoughts as she slowly took on a grin, which only widened as Vincent continued on. "I'll help you."

Sora did her best to stifle a victory cheer, but mostly failed to do so as she made a short fist pump in the air. Though, she quickly turned to Vincent as he asked his next inquiry; "So, where to first?"

After a few second pause, Sora then let out a gasp and turned toward the entrance of the cavern. "Oh crap! Reno and Rude! They're still out there!" she called out in a panic, ruffling her hair in the process.

"Well then, I guess we should go out and find them." Vincent said calmly as he walked toward the only opening in the cave.

The silver-haired girl nodded to this before rushing up and past him, her reaching the exit rather quickly. Which nearly made her slip and fall into the waterfall itself, yet was caught by her hood as Vincent kept Sora on her feet. "Thanks." she hummed out sheepishly.

All the while, the two men had been driving toward the forest, yet hadn't seen any sign of Sora. Them even calling out to her while they continued, Reno even using a megaphone speaker that had been in the back of the truck. "Hey! Sora! Where did you go?!"

Though, there was no response as the red-haired man slumped down in his seat with a sigh. Him looking around the area as best he could for the girl, yet there was nothing but thick trees, overgrown bushes and tall grass. "Man...where did she run off to?" he muttered silently.

"Right here!" Sora suddenly called out from above as she suddenly landed in the back of the vehicle with a thud.

Her immediately sitting down in the seat as the two men looked to the girl from over their shoulders. "You really like running off, huh?" Rude muttered silently, obviously referring to the time when they first met the girl.

Sora having rushed on ahead, rather than meeting with the others like they were supposed to. However, the girl simply huffed to this and crossed her arms. "I'm just fast in what I do." she claimed quickly in the same moment that Vincent dropped into the back of the truck as well.

The raven-haired man landed perfectly in the seat without making a sound, which hadn't alerted the two at the front at all. "Whatever you say." Reno chuckled out while shrugging his shoulders.

Sora blinked briefly to Vincent before huffing; "Oh come on...that's just not fair." she muttered silently.

"What isn't?" Rude questioned, briefly turning his head to the side, yet kept his gaze fixed on the road ahead.

Which was now a fully dense forest on either side of the path, the trees even creating a slight canopy overhead with their branches. Though, it was still enough to see the dark clouds in the sky as the storm was slowly moving over them. "Nothing...we should probably bring the cover up if we don't want to get wet." Sora responded as she gazed up through the leaves with narrowed eyes, the clouds being a deep grey.

"Good point." Reno commented, looking to Rude as the man just nodded and slowly brought the truck to a stop.

Upon doing so, they then got out of the truck, moved to the back and began pulling the fabric roof over the top. While doing so, Reno glanced to Vincent and gave a nod of acknowledgment. "Hey Vincent." he muttered in a simple manner, merely continuing on.

But after a brief second, the man paused immediately before quickly turned back and gazed to the man just sitting in the back seat. "V-Vincent?! What are you doing here?" he asked in a near panic as Rude looked to this individual as well.

"I've decided to join Sora on her quest to save the world." Vincent responded in a matter-a-fact way, him looking between them with a soul piercing gaze.

"I assume you don't have any problems with that." he continued, leading for the other two men to look at one another as if questioning what they should do.

Though, they were snapped out of this silent questioning as the first few drops of rain began to fall on them. "Oh crap!" Reno uttered out while rushing to affix the roof to its proper place and getting back into the truck.

As Rude restarted the vehicle, he took a glance back to Vincent along with Reno. But neither one said anything as they started on their way once more. However, during this glance, Sora now had a young leopard in her lap and a baby bear in her arms. This making Rude stop the car once more and look back to her along with the red-haired man. "When...Where...What?" they both said in near unison of one another.

"What? While you two were bringing the roof over, I got my friends down from the Gummi ship. They were probably getting bored, and I promised to take them on an adventure." Sora responded while scratching behind one of Zola's ears and holding Ursa with her other arm.

This looking oddly intimidating and cute at the same time as each of the other three just gazed to her silently. Yet Rude let out a silent breath and continued on driving, him turning on the windshield wipers as the rain was starting to come down quite heavily. "Just make sure they don't ruin the interior. It might be a rental, but I don't want to have to explain the damages to Dio." he muttered silently as they drove on through the tree surrounded road.

"Of course no-" Sora started, yet paused when seeing Zola gnawing on the seat she was sitting on.

"What was that?" Rude questioned in a firm tone, making the girl clear her throat quickly.

"I-I said, of course not." she said while tapping Zola on the nose to make her stop this.

All the while, Vincent merely raised a brow to all this. Him having determined that Sora was from another world long ago, despite her seeming rather careful in trying not to reveal it. But now it was entirely obvious and out in the open as he looked to the two animals. One of which he could tell wasn't natural in the slightest, yet he was distracted when the leopard began to move her paw toward him. This being an indication that she wanted his attention, to which Vincent slowly lifted his hand up and placed it gently on her head.

"Looks like she likes you." Sora commented with a wide grin as Zola began to purr softly.

* * *

 **And there you have it, Vincent has joined the party. ;D I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter and will let me know what you thought. Until next time.**


	69. Gaia part V

**Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 68: Gaia part V

Heavy rain drops fell from the sky. The sound of millions of tiny taps against the ground and rocks filled the air. The group was slowly making their way up a steep winding hill, of which had sharp jagged points sticking out in various places all across its surface. These features being shared with the many surrounding hills in the vast area. After reaching the base of this mountain, they had decided to take the rest of the trek on foot.

Sora was still holding Ursa tightly in her arms, attempting to keep the rain away with the use of her hood. Meanwhile, Zola walked beside and under the teen's half-dress in order to remain dry. Though the girl remained further back from the rest, she was still able to hear some of the whispers of the three men a few yards ahead of her. "How much has Rufus told her?" Vincent questioned while glancing between the other two.

"Only as much as she needs to in order to help us." Rude answered silently as he seemed to be doing the best in keeping his voice silent.

"And before you say anything, we're not keeping any information from her...if she asks, we'll answer." Reno added with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Yet you give 'dead end' information, which doesn't lead to many questions. That way you avoid her finding out something that might change her opinion about all of you." Vincent muttered, his gaze glancing back to the hooded teen for a split second.

Whom was just petting Ursa's head while speaking to the Heartless in her own hushed voice. "So remember, if you see bad guys...you become 'Ursa Major'. But once they're gone, you go back to being 'Ursa Minor'. Got it?" she asked, but only received a slight head tilt from the bear.

Despite not appearing to fully understand her words, it did seem to have some sort of comprehension of what she was saying. "Good. Now, also keep in mind who your friends are." she continued while making gestures between everyone as to get the Heartless to understand this concept she was attempting to teach.

Each of the men looked to this in a mixture of confusion and acceptance, the latter of which being due to no longer feeling surprised by the girl and her actions. A few moments later, the group had reached their destination. Where they saw an obviously abandoned factory of sorts, the metal of each structure being heavily rusted and even bent in some places. Yet from what the group could see, there was a tunnel leading further into the mountain. However, it was entirely caved in after only a few meters inside.

"Well crap." Reno muttered with a huff and groan.

"Probably should have come by this area earlier, so that we would have known beforehand." Rude added, letting out a heavy sigh.

"Nah, it's a good thing you hadn't." Sora spoke up while looking to the pair with a smile.

"If we didn't come out this way, we wouldn't have been able to help Dio with those monsters...I wouldn't have found Vincent...and we wouldn't get to plan out a vacation at the Gold Saucer~!" she continued, grinning widely to the group.

All of whom blinked a few times as, regardless of trying not to be surprised any more, they were indeed shocked one last time by the teen. "You're quite pure minded...aren't you?" Vincent spoke up in a silent voice as he gazed at Sora.

Said girl glanced back to him with her signature smile and a thumbs up; "I do my best~!" she hummed out proudly.

Yet she slowly tilted her head up to the clouds with a sigh when a flash of lightning lit up the area around them. A loud rumbling of thunder echoed out, almost seeming to vibrate the very air. "We should probably be heading back though...it looks like the storm is gonna start getting worse."

Reno nodded his head to this in agreement, but quickly slapped his forehead. "Oh man, Elena and Tseng have probably been waiting for us for at least two hours now." he muttered, sighing heavily immediately after.

"It can't be helped, the storm grounded us early on. And if it keeps up, none of us will be able to travel very fast." Rude stated while also looking up at the grey sky, to which a series of rain drops clattered against his sunglasses before he tilted his head back down to normal.

This lead for Reno to let out another sigh and glance toward Sora; "Don't you have some kind of magic that can push the clouds away or something?" he asked, shrugging his shoulders when speaking.

"Shouldn't you have asked me that before?" Sora questioned back, raising a brow as she did..

"Well I figured you would have done it before. But now I'm just making sure it's something you simply may have forgotten about." the red-haired man responded, causing the girl to huff.

"Now that's just mean! I wouldn't just forget something as simple as 'Manipulate Weather'." Sora claimed firmly, yet instantly paused and blinked a few times.

"H-Huh?" she uttered out while tilting her head up toward the dark clouds.

As droplets of water landed on her face, Sora's eyes squinted slightly to keep the rain from hitting them. Her expression became a thoughtful, but very confused one as she seemed surprised at herself. 'Why do I know how the spell works?' the teen mused within her mind, slowly lifting a hand into the air.

'The way my magic moves...the way I shape its form...I know exactly how to form the spell, and even how to change the way it's used.' Sora finished as a burst of blue and white magic shot from her palm.

This racing up into the sky before striking into the nearest cloud, of which seemed to absorb it with ease. A brief second later however, all the clouds in the sky began to disburse in a circle. It originating from the point in which the girl's spell had reached the sky. Once all the clouds had vanished, it revealed the sun shining down upon the group from directly above. Which had caused all but Rude to shield their eyes from the sudden introduction of light.

"So you did forget." Reno commented, rubbing his eyes briefly and looking to the teen.

Whom glanced to him before she then shifted her gaze to her lowering hand. "I guess I did." she muttered silently with a sheepish smile, her making an almost obvious attempt to hide her confusion.

"Well, that just means it'll make our trip over to Mideel all the more smooth." Rude said, glancing around to the others as the red-haired man nodded in agreement.

Rude then brought out a phone and soon began talking to Tseng. Sora's focus was elsewhere though. As she gazed to her hand, the teen appeared to almost stare right through it when focusing on her thoughts. 'Just how many things did Maleficent actually teach me during that year? I only remember fragments of things, yet even when I recall a spell...I still don't truly remember the actually lesson itself.' she mused, even her inner tone showing how suspicious she found this.

'I wonder if that's normal...or if it's intentional.' Sora finished, yet was brought out of her thoughts as Zola bumped her head against the girl's leg.

With a blinking gaze, the silver-haired teen slowly smiled and knelt down to the leopard. "I'm alright Zola. Thanks for worrying." she said, scratching behind the cat's ears.

Zola let out a purr from this before leaning in and licking Sora on the cheek, to which the girl smiled widely. "Aw~, you're just being too cute." she hummed out happily while petting the leopard on the top of her head.

As Vincent watched this, he raised a brow slowly at the teen. Him finding her rather strange, but also quite endearing at the same time. However, as he gazed to her, his attention was slowly drawn to the strange bear in her free arm. His eyes narrowing upon its form as he was able to tell it definitely wasn't normal. To what extent though, he wasn't sure. Yet the longer he stared at its form, the more he started to notice the feeling of unease it was giving him. It being as if he was looking into some kind of abyss that held nothing but a swirl of incoherent emotions.

This lead for him to turn his gaze back to Sora as he couldn't help but wonder how she remained sane while holding such a creature. But as she turned toward him, his eyes widened slightly. As, for a very brief moment, he saw someone else there. A boy with spiky golden-blond hair, wearing a black and white themed outfit. "You okay over there?" Sora asked while glancing over to the man with a curious tilt of her head.

Instantly after she spoke, this image had vanished and Vincent simply nodded his head to her. "Yes." was all he responded, him quickly turning toward Rude as he finished his call.

"They're coming to pick you two up, so you guys can just wait here. Reno and I will be returning the truck, so we'll meet you there." the bald man said as he pocketed his phone.

"Sounds good to me. Give Dio my regards, and make sure to mention that we succeeded in taking care of the monsters in the area." the girl uttered, smiling lightly as she did.

After giving a nod, Rude and Reno left the area to head back down the mountain path. Meanwhile, Vincent's eyes kept glancing to Sora, as if expecting to see this other person again. But it never happened as after a few minutes, his and Sora's attention was quickly grasped by the approaching helicopter. Once it landed nearby, the side door opened and Elena began waving the pair inside. "Come on! Hurry up!" she called out from over the loud helicopter blades spinning above her.

Upon getting on board and buckling into their seats, the aircraft then lifted up and then toward their new destination. Along the way, Elena had taken to treating the young leopard like a normal cat and started petting her. "She's so adorable~!" she hummed out with a wide smile.

"Isn't she?" Sora concurred as she took on a smile of her own.

"I had no idea you had a pet leopard." the blond woman uttered, looking between said feline and the teen.

"Oh she's not a 'pet', she's basically my little sister~." Sora said happily, taking on a grin.

While they gave their attention to Zola however, Tseng was speaking to Vincent in a hushed tone at the front of the helicopter. "I'm surprised to see you here with her." he whispered, glancing to the man in red.

"She's out to help this world...the least I can do is offer some assistance." Vincent responded in a simple manner, yet there was definitely more to it.

"Fair enough...but is that really all?" Tseng questioned, his eyes focusing back on the sky ahead of them as it was still perfectly clear after Sora's spell.

The other man glanced to him as his gaze narrowed slowly; "What do you mean?" Vincent asked back, not quite wanting to give away his true intentions.

"Well...you've seen her appearance, yet you don't seem to care all that much, so there is something more about her that you're curious about." the suit-wearing man stated, his eyes briefly shifting over to Vincent once more.

Whom narrowed his stare a bit more before he turned to look out the window to his right. Him understanding that Tseng had likely seen or felt the same things he had, meaning there wouldn't be much to hide. "She's a strange person." he began while glancing back toward Sora for a moment.

"Her appearance is questionable, and even the fact that there are abilities she doesn't remember having is odd...but..." Vincent continued, his gaze hardening as he turned away and back to the window.

"But?" Tseng echoed out, wanting the man to finish whatever he was going to say.

"There's something way more bizarre about her, as well as the company she keeps. It's like...she is more than just one." the man in red said in a whisper, to which the other man blinked a few times to these words.

As a long pause stretched around them, they briefly tensed up when Sora suddenly poked her head up from between the pair. "Hey! So how long until we reach our destination?" she questioned with a small grin.

Tseng took a second to clear his throat and relax his nerves before he responded calmly. "It'll take about two or three hours...depending on whether we'll be alright in terms of fuel." he answered, making Sora nod her head in response.

"Alright, I'm gonna be playing Zola and Ursa so don't mind any scratching noises." she hummed out with a small grin, her having wanted to do this for some time, yet never got the chance.

"Okay Zola, time to bring out..." Sora started while turning to the large cat; "...the laser pointer."

* * *

 **And yes, Sora would definitely have a laser pointer for Zola. XD Anyway, yeah...that was a pretty dialogue heavy chapter. Which, while okay...gave me a lot of writer's block unfortunately. It's the reason why this is a week late, since there isn't much that can be done about writer's block. But I still do apologize for that, since I really did want this out last week. Though, I think I'll be alright for the next chapter to come out next week, so that should still happen. Well, I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter and will let me know what you thought. Until next time.  
**


	70. Gaia part VI

**Sorry this is a day late, I was working on my friend's birthday present most of this week. But I hope that all of you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 69: Gaia part VI

The helicopter slowly began its decent. The long since abandoned remnants of a town being visible below, as well as what appeared to be a small lake of glowing green water. Of which Sora gazed at with an expression of amazement while pressing her face against the window. "Cool~." she hummed out, slowly gaining a wide smile.

"Is that the Lifestream?" Sora questioned, glancing over to Elena.

Said woman gave a nod in response while joining the teen near the window. "Yep, that's it." the blond said as the ground slowly got closer and closer.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she added silently, briefly looking over to Zola as the leopard was taking a nap in one of the seats.

Sora took on a small grin as she nodded her head; "Very. Though..." the girl started, her expression slowly becoming a somewhat confused one.

"...what happened to this village?" she finished in a curious tone, looking to the woman once more.

"There was an incident here where the Lifestream itself rose up and flooded the town." Elena answered while watching the green glow of the water become a bit brighter as they landed nearby.

Once the door of the helicopter opened, Sora moved to the edge of the water and gazed down at the Lifestream. Ursa, being held in one of her arms, was also looking toward it. The raw energy that was felt radiating from the soft green glow seemed almost hypnotic. "So..." the teen spoke up while turning to the others as they too exited the powering-down helicopter.

"...how does this work? Do I just jump in or something?" she questioned curiously, there never being a spoken method for how she should come into contact with the Lifestream.

"I don't think it would be a good idea to completely submerge yourself, but..." Elena began, tilting her head up in thought soon after.

"It would be the easiest way for the Lifestream to 'understand' you and your motives." Tseng finished, him having come to the same conclusion as the blond.

Sora glanced between them before over to Vincent with a small smile; "Any advice you can offer?" she asked, obviously a little nervous now that the moment has come.

Though the man was quiet for a few moments, he took a glance between the glowing water and the teen. "I believe just doing as your heart decides will be good enough. The Lifestream will respond to you, so long as your mind is in the right place." he stated in a strangely knowing manner.

Something of which Sora took notice of, but simply nodded her head in response as she placed Ursa down. "Stay here, alright? I'll be right back." she said slowly, yet firmly as she remained knelt down.

The Heartless gazed up to her before tilting its head slightly to the side, which made it appear rather cute. Sora immediately huffing and petting the top of its head; "Don't give me that look, I promise I'll be back soon." she claimed quickly.

While the creature still didn't appear to understand her words, the girl's tone seemed to get through as Ursa simply sat down on the ground. This made Sora smile lightly as she stood up, to which she gave the group one last glance before instantly jumping off the edge. 'This better not be the same as going into normal water.' she stated in her mind, landing in the Lifestream immediately afterwards.

Once submerged, the teen's consciousness seemed to fade in and out for a few moments. After blinking however, she found herself staring at a mirror that was only an arm's reach away. The area around her was a constant flow of glowing green, yet there were no distinguishing features in anything. And while she could feel herself floating, there was no pressure against her body. Leading for Sora to accidentally take in a breath, yet the teen found that she could breathe just fine. Confused and a little disoriented, it took a moment for Sora to finally notice that the mirror itself didn't hold a reflection.

This lead for her eyes to narrow and slowly reached out to touch the mirror's surface. "What is-" she started, yet instantly stopped when she saw her reflection shimmer into sight.

But rather than mimicking her movements, the reflected image was completely independent from her. "Whoa..." Sora muttered silently as she blinked a few times.

All the while, the other Sora was simply gazing at the original with a blank expression. Though, as it opened its mouth to speak, millions upon billions of voices were heard at the same time. "Why?" was all they said, yet the sheer weight behind it was enormous.

Sora getting the feeling that she was speaking to an entire world of people all at once. But it was the emotions filling her mind that made the teen gaze to her double in shock. These basically asking her why she was there, why she wanted to help, why she held her motives, and even why she chose to come to this world. All of these questioned filled her mind in quick succession, causing her eyes to roll back a bit while blinking rapidly.

After these thoughts slowly faded, Sora took a moment to adjust her gaze and look to the image of herself. "W-Well...I'm here to help in any way I can." was all she could think to answer, attempting to sound less nervous than she currently was.

There was a brief pause from both sides before Sora's mind was suddenly filled with images. These rushing through her mind so fast that she was barely able to tell what many of them even were. However, they all seemed to be focused on things that her mind somehow identified as; Mako reactors. Some images holding their construction, others were of when they started their function. But the main ones that stuck to the teen's mind, were of areas across the world beginning to die. The connection between this phenomenon not even needing to be explained to the girl as she just watched all this.

Though, there was one overwhelming emotion that had flooded Sora's very being the whole time she received these pictures, pain. It being very similar to the kind she herself felt when the Jenova cells activated. This time however, she wasn't the one feeling this pain, it was the planet. "This...This is so horrible..." she whispered out in a broken tone, a few tears running down the sides of her cheeks.

It being now that she noticed one last detail about all the images containing the reactors. Every single one held a sole name upon their surface; Shinra. Sora's eyes widened briefly before they narrowed, her having suspected the man of some kind of secret. Though, she never would have guessed it was something like this. The Shinra company was literally killing the planet, causing it and everyone on it to suffer as a result. "I'm so sorry." she spoke softly, her head being tilted downward.

"Please...don't let others suffer for their misdoings. I will do something about this pain, I promise. Just tell me how I can help, and I'll do it." she uttered while looking to the mirror through tear-filled eyes, making it hard to see her copy's movements.

The reflection lifted its hand out toward the girl as the images instantly stopped, allowing Sora to blink a couple times and focus her gaze. As she did, the teen noticed that there was a keyhole in the mirror, right where the other Sora's hand reached out. "Seal." it said, the many voices all but vibrating the area around them.

As the silver-haired girl gazed to the keyhole, she tilted her head down to her right hand. 'Please...let me do this. Please let me help this world and its people!' she willed to herself, clutching her hand into a fist and closing both eyes tightly.

Sora then brought her hand out with both eyes still shut, to which she just waited silently. All the while, she constantly willed the Keyblade to come back, hoping for even just one last use of its power. "Please..." she whispered aloud.

Time seemed to slow down for the girl, it feeling like hours had passed without any sign of the Keyblade. But she still didn't stop trying to will it into her hand. Even when she thought about giving up, she simply refused to, believing that even if it took an eternity...she would wait. After what felt like several more hours however, a sudden, but familiar weight had been clasped in her grasp. Sora's eyes snapped open and saw the Kingdom Key of Darkness in her right hand. A gentle smile curled her lips as if she was greeting a friend whom had been away for a long time.

"Thank you." she whispered to the Keyblade before she pointed it at the keyhole.

A beam of light shot from the weapon and into the mirror, of which shattered soon after. Yet the keyhole itself remained as a locking sound echoed out, to which it to disappeared. Sora then looked around the area quickly as if expecting to see or feel something happen. Though, her vision slowly began to darken and her consciousness fade. In Sora's last second of awareness, there was a feeling that someone, or something, was grateful to her. Despite it being on a much grander scale than she could understand, she slowly smiled and let darkness fill her sight.

The next thing Sora knew, her face was being licked by Zola as the leopard occasionally nudged the teen with her head. "Hmm?" she hummed out silently, cracking both eyes open to see what was going on.

Her having washed up onto the shore, opposite of where she originally jumped in. Yet her clothes and body weren't even wet, almost as if the Lifestream wasn't actually water to begin with. However, she didn't get any time to muse over this as Vincent's voice was heard just to her left. "It seems that you've returned."

Sora blinked a few times as she then started to wonder; 'Was it all in my head?'

Though, just as she was about to respond, the girl took notice of the Keyblade still in her hand. This caused Sora to smile softly and nod her head in agreement to his words. "Yeah...it seems I have." she whispered silently before hugging the weapon.

As Vincent watched, his focus had mostly been toward the teen's hair. It having returned to its natural brown color, same with her eyes becoming their normal shade of blue. But he slowly looked to Zola as the leopard began pawing at the girl's hand, basically asking for Sora's attention. Said teen turned to the feline and smiled softly; "Sorry." she hummed out while dismissing the Keyblade and wrapping her arms around Zola in a hug.

As she pet the top of the leopard's head, Sora noticed that the others were making their way over as well. Save for Ursa, whom could still be seen sitting at the ridge from where the teen told them to. Sora smiled softly as she stood up with Zola still in her arms, the rather large cat just curling up into the girl's grasp. "You both are just too adorable." she whispered silently with a wider smile, to which she moved to meet the group halfway.

"Looks like she didn't really need my help at all." Vincent muttered silently as he simply watched Sora go.

However, his eyes narrowed slowly on the teen while crossing both arms across his chest. 'Though...I should keep a close eye on her from now on. There's no way I can leave this girl to her own devices, now that I've seen just what sort of person she is...as well as the sort of people she's encountered.' he thought to himself before moving toward the others.

All of them heading back to the helicopter, just as a second one had begun to approach. But rather than land, it simply hovered over the group as if waiting for them to join it in the sky. Of which they eventually did after Sora carried both Zola and Ursa onboard. As both aircraft flew through the air, Tseng began speaking to someone from over the radio. After this conversation, the man flipped a few switches and his voice was heard over a speaker.

"We just received word that a massive cloud has developed over Midgar. But it seems that there are reports of people with Geostigma being cured after coming into contact with the rain. So whatever you did Sora...it seems that you succeeded." he announced in a calm manner, despite the rather impressed tone in his voice.

The brown-haired teen took on a wide grin from this news, to which she looked to Zola and Ursa in her arms. "Looks like we saved another world, huh?" she hummed out softly while looking out the window, her expression being one of relief.

'Though...' Sora continued inwardly as her features slowly narrowed; '...I'm gonna have a long talk with Rufus when we get back.'

* * *

 **And there you have it, normal Sora is back...for now. And it seems that she's gotten the attention of Vincent Valentine, but to what end? Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter and will let me know what you thought. Until next time.**


	71. Twilight Town part IV

**Sorry this is a week late. I had it 70% done by last Tuesday, but then I had a lot going on the entire rest of the week. =/ But, I hope this will make up for it.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 70: Twilight Town part IV

"And then I had a long discussion with Rufus." Sora said with a shrug of her shoulders, sipping some tea from a cup in her hands.

"Telling him that, while I understood why he kept information from me, I was still disappointed in the fact that he had." she continued, her being directly across from Yen Sid.

The two sitting in the room next to the sorcerer's office, both having lavish chairs with white cushions on the backrest, arms and seat. A small table had been placed between the pair, with a tea kettle and a pair of cups placed upon its flat surface. "But...since he had taken the initiative to do something about his past mistakes, I forgave him. As well as thanked him for bringing me there so I could help." the teen finished, smiling softly while looking to the cup in her hands.

Though as Sora placed her cup back on the table, it revealed that there were three brought out. Of which lead for her to slowly glance to Vincent from over her shoulder. Said man leaning against the wall with both arms crossed and his head tilted slightly down. Allowing him to still keep an eye on the room, without being too obvious about doing so. "As for him..." Sora began, making a gesture toward the raven-haired man.

"...he's decided to watch over me, I guess." she finished, shrugging her shoulders once more.

Yen Sid gazed to Vincent for a few moments as the man simply stared back, a tense moment forming between them. But as the elder man slowly looked back to Sora, he gained a small smile on his elder features. "I see, well...I'm sure his assistance will be something you'll appreciate. Especially on the next task I have for you." he began, to which Sora blinked a couple times in curiosity.

"Shouldn't I be heading to other worlds and sealing off the Keyholes? Or something that helps in foiling the Organization's plans?" the teen commented while tilting her head to the side in question.

"The others have a handle on sealing the Keyholes." Yen Sid began, him shaking his head briefly at the start.

"So what I want you to do for now...is gather allies. It will not only give us a greater advantage when the inevitable final fight begins, but it'll also provide us more short term successes." he explained, stroking his beard slowly.

"And while we will graciously accept any help you can bring us from the other worlds, I do have four individuals I would like for you to find along the way." the man continued as he laced his fingers together and rested both hands in his lap.

Sora blinked once more and tilted her head to the side, obviously wondering whom these four could be. Yet she didn't have to wait long as Yen Sid spoke up once more upon seeing her interested expression. "The first is actually someone you know, but we've had difficulty tracking him down...Zack Fair." the old man claimed, causing the girl's eyes to wide briefly.

'That's right, even though I was hoping to have our rematch the last time I was at the coliseum...I never saw him. Unless...' she mused to herself, slowly gazing down as if in shame.

'...I missed the actual tournament.' the girl finished, recalling that she had promised to be there for the tournament itself.

While pondering this, she ended up missing the name of the second person Yen Sid had mentioned. Yet she quickly snapped back when he mentioned the last two; "And then, there are Claire and Serah Farron."

Not wanting to show that she wasn't paying attention, Sora simply nodded her head in response. "Gotcha. So where do I start in finding each of them?" she questioned quickly, clearing throat beforehand.

"Unfortunately...only the last two have a set world they're staying in. And as far as we can tell, the other two appear to be wandering the cosmos." the sorcerer stated, to which the teen nodded once more.

"Alright, so where is it the last two ended up?" she asked, now rather curious as to where it was she needed to go.

"And so..." Sora started as she gazed out to Hayner, Pence and Olette.

"...that's why I came here." she finished, each of the three simply nodding their heads slowly.

"Claire..." the blond uttered to himself, tilting his head down in thought and rubbing his chin with a finger.

"And Serah..." the other teen boy added softly while placing both hands behind his head.

"Farron..." the female of the trio said in a soft voice, to which she glanced to each of her friends.

Both of whom looked back and nodded their heads in some sort of unanimous agreement. "I think we know exactly who you're looking for." Hayner stated with a small smirk curling his lips.

Sora blinked many times from this before smiling widely; "Really? Can you take me to them?" she asked in a rather excited manner, her thinking the search would be a great deal harder.

"Well...about that..." Pence started, scratching the back of his neck and looking to the side sheepishly.

"They live in the Sunset Terrance. It's a district of the town only accessible by train." Olette added, nodding her head in understanding to what her friend was leading toward.

"And right now...the train station is down for maintenance. The only use of the railways right now are people transporting food and stuff." Hayner continued with a shrug and heavy sigh.

"They said it would be about a week...two days ago." Pence finished in an almost apologetic tone.

As Sora glanced between each of them, she tilted her head down a bit and let out a sigh of her own. "I should have figured it wouldn't be so easy." she muttered in a somewhat defeated tone.

However, she then shrugged both shoulders and gained a small smirk on her features. "But...at least I know where they are now." the teen continued softly, shifting her gaze to the exit.

The group being in the 'Usual Spot', or 'The Sandlot Gang's hideout'. Despite the sheet covering the only way in and out, Sora was still able to vaguely see the sun as it was slowly starting to set. Yet her attention was quickly grasped once more as Pence spoke up; "Oh! I almost forgot."

Sora shifted her gaze toward him and blinked a few times in curiosity. "What?" she uttered out as if on instinct.

"Seifer has been stopping by for the last few days looking for you." the raven-haired boy responded with a shrug.

Upon hearing this, Sora blinked a few times before smiling a bit sheepishly. "I hope he doesn't think I've been ignoring him or something." she commented in a near whisper.

"Of course not. I think he'll be happy to see you again." Olette claimed in a knowing manner, something that made Sora raise a brow in question.

However, the teen then gave a nod in response before moving toward the exit; "Where can I find him?" she asked from over her shoulder while glancing to the trio.

"In the underground paths near the Sandlot. He's been 'secretly' training down there almost the whole time you've been gone." Pence said, chuckling softly at the end as he raised a hand to cover his grinning features.

Sora once again raised a brow, her feeling like she was the only one whom didn't understand an inside joke being told. Yet Hayner simply joined the girl near the exit and patted her on the shoulder. "We'll lead you over there. The underground is a bit of a maze if you don't know where you're goin'." he said while heading outside, to which the brown-haired girl followed soon after.

Upon exiting, Sora glanced up to one of the building rooftops, where she noticed a brief flash of crimson. Her knowing this to be Vincent, as said man told her that he would be keeping a close eye on her, yet also remain out of sight. But as the group headed toward the Sandlot, the man followed closely after with his gaze constantly on the look out. Of which lead for Sora to occasionally glance over her shoulder as if checking if he was still there.

'It feels strange having someone constantly looking after me. But it's also kind of...nice.' she thought to herself as a small smile unconsciously appeared on her features.

Though, as they came up to the entrance to the underground though, the brown-haired teen briefly glanced toward Hayner in curiosity. "He's really been training down there?" she asked, gesturing to the low-lit tunnel in front of them.

"Well...it's the best place to do something if you don't wanna get seen or caught." the teen answered with a small smirk.

Yet he obviously realized that his words could also be hinting at illegal activities as well, to which he cleared his throat quickly. "But nothing too serious of course." he added in an attempt to disregard this possibility.

Sora however, didn't even seem to notice as she looked to him slightly confused for a few seconds. Leading for Hayner to just wave his hand dismissively and head down into the tunnel. The others followed after quickly, even Vincent, as he still kept a distance from the others. "For someone on a mission, she seems rather comfortable in taking her time." he muttered silently to himself, all while moving silently into the underground area.

"Though...she is technically gathering allies, so she is still fulfilling her mission in a way." Vincent continued while stepping out around one of the corner as he saw the group further along the long tunnel.

"The long way around." he added to himself, pausing in his steps and just letting the four move on ahead.

Upon reaching a crossroad, Hayner brought the others to the left path and to a more open area in the tunnel. There being a rather high ceiling and even a few viewing points on an upper level. Where Fuu, Rai and Vivi could be seen looking down from above. Their attention being directed at Seifer, whom stood in the middle of this open area. Said teen holding a blue and gold foam sword out in front of him, to which he quickly began to swing it in a rather expert manner.

Seifer let out a few short battle yells while slashing, stabbing and even parrying the air around him. But it was very clear, very quickly, that he held true skill when it came to the sword. Even with a fake sword, the boy was far better than what the group was expecting. Leading for them to end up just standing there and watching him for a few long minutes. Yet Sora eventually took on a smile and stepped forward, summoning her Keyblade in the process.

Thanks to Seifer being entirely engrossed in his training, he didn't even notice the girl's approach until he swung in her direction. At which point, Sora blocked his strike and give him her signature grin. "I hear you've been looking for me." she commented with a quick wink.

The blond-haired teen gazed at her in shock before retracting his 'weapon' away and immediately straightened his posture. "Y-Yeah..." was all he answered, somewhat flustered by the girl's sudden appearance.

Of which had taken him off guard as it was the first time he actually saw her in something other than the Organization's coat. But Sora herself was entirely oblivious as she gave a sheepish smile to him; "Though, I'm really sorry it took me so long to come back. I've been looking forward to learning from you." she claimed in an honest tone, her having almost puppy-like eyes.

Something that caused Seifer to briefly blush before he cleared his throat and looked to the side. "I-It's fine." he muttered silently as his gaze slowly turned back to the teen.

"But now that you're here, we should get started." Seifer said in a firm tone, but this authority didn't faze Sora in the slightest.

Said teen just grinning once more and nodding in response; "Yeah~!" she called out happily, making everyone watching this scene give a smile of their own to some degree or another.

* * *

 **There you have it, Sora has finally returned to Twilight Town and has started her training with Seifer. And she's gained a guardian to keep her out of trouble, though...this is Sora we're talking about. XD Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter and will let me know what you thought of it. Leave your guesses for the other ally Yen Sid asked her to get in a review. ;D Until next time.**


	72. Twilight Town part V

**Well, since I can't really seem to keep up with the weekly updates, I'll just go back to the every other week schedule. I thought I'd be able to handle it, despite the recent changes, but it looks like I won't be able to. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 71: Twilight Town part V

Sora let out a deeply held breath as she finished drinking from her bottle of water. The girl sitting together with the seven other teens, each one being in a line across the raised platform on the upper level. The brown-haired girl being placed directly in the middle of the two groups along with Seifer. Said boy sitting on her right side, while Hayner was on the left. Yet Sora directed her attention toward the former as she asked a quick question. "So, how did I do?"

Seifer looked to her briefly while finishing his own water, to which he then tilted his head up in thought. "Not bad, you caught on way faster than I was expecting." he commented, leading for the girl to grin in response.

However, this slowly began to fade as the teen boy continued on in a somewhat firm tone. "But...you're still relying too heavily on sheer strength and speed to compensate for your lack of technique."

"And while that might work most of the time, if you encounter a true master...then it won't matter how strong or fast you are." he continued while crossing his arms.

As he looked to Sora once more, he blinked many times when seeing that she was hanging her head down in defeat. This causing him to clear his throat and look to the side sheepishly; "A-Although...since you sought me out to be your teacher, it goes to show that you're able to get better. As the first step in improving, is to admit that you have room to grow." he claimed almost nervously as he wanted to cheer the girl up, but not in an entirely obvious way.

Sora slowly lifted her gaze to meet his, giving a small smile in response to these words. Of which allowed Seifer to let out a breath in relief as he continued on; "And with my help, I'm sure you'll become a great swordswoman."

"Yeah! Seifer's the best, ya know!" Rai claimed from the far end of his group's side.

"Absolutely!" Vivi called out while lifting a fist up to show his agreement.

"No lie." Fuu added silently, nodding her head slowly to her friend's comments.

All the while, Seifer was grinning widely and simply accepted this praise. Yet his ego was quickly deflated as Pence spoke up in an amused tone. "Then I guess it must have been part of your 'master strategy' to lose your sparing match with Sora, huh?"

Hayner laughed to this as he nudged his raven-haired friend beside him; "Of course~! Don't you know?" he started before leaning forward and looked to Seifer from around Sora.

"Seifer's used to being the 'underdog'." he finished, to which the scarred teen growled out silently.

"I think you're mistaking me for yourself, loser." Seifer stated while clutching a hand into a fist.

"You wanna go right now?" Hayner retorted as he made the same gesture.

"Bring it on." Seifer said, both teens getting ready to go down to the hall-like area to fight.

Sora glanced between them for a moment before starting to laugh softly, making the pair look to her with a blinking gaze. Yet the others soon joined her in their own way, to which the teen boys eventually just huffed and looked away from one another. "You two would make the weirdest brothers." the girl hummed out between her laughs.

This lead for many of the others to nod in agreement, all as Seifer and Hayner kept looking in opposite directions. During this though, Sora tilted her head up thoughtfully. 'Weird...it's like I've heard someone say that before.' she mused to herself, yet shrugged it off before looking to Olette as she hopped down to the floor below.

"Now that we've taken a break, how about we go out for ice cream?" she questioned while looking to the large group with a small smile.

Despite Seifer appearing as though he would refuse, Sora spoke up first in an excited tone. "That sounds great!" she said happily, quickly sliding off the edge to join the other girl on the lower floor.

As the two gazed back to the others, one by one, they eventually gathered around them. Though, not without some huffing and groaning from both Seifer and Hayner. Sora smiled widely to this, to which she then followed after the group as they made their way above ground. Everyone going toward the clock tower, yet not without stopping by a particular shop to get their ice cream. But as they arrived at top of the tall structure, they each sat on the edge that faced the setting sun.

"It really is a beautiful view, it reminds me of back home." Sora whispered softly as she gazed out to the yellow, orange and red colors filling the sky.

"What's your home like?" Pence questioned curiously, yet everyone had also looked to her to hear the answer.

"Well...I live on an island, so I guess you could say that it's kinda similar to here. At least in the way of everyone knows everyone." Sora started, letting out a soft giggle at the end.

"Plus, most of the kids end up being around the same age each generation, so making friends is really easy." she continued while taking on a small grin as she looked to the others.

All of whom slowly smiled back, each of them starting to understand why they seemed to become such fast friends with Sora. Though, as said teen took a bite from her ice cream, she soon blinked many times in response. "Oh~, that's delicious~!" she hummed out, a wider grin curling her lips.

"Isn't it?" Hayner commented with a grin of his own.

Sora nodded her head slowly, yet looked down to the ice cream in her hand. 'Though...oddly familiar.' she thought briefly.

Yet as they sat together eating their ice cream and talked amongst themselves, the brown-haired teen couldn't help but feel nostalgic about this. It being as if she had done this with others multiple times in the past, despite there being no memory of such times. However, as she continued thinking about her past and the friends she had on the island, three stuck out immediately in her mind. 'Yuna..Rikku..Paine, they were already gone by the time I woke up. And from what the others told me, they guessed that Maleficent had taken them again. Although they mentioned that they visited the island every so often, I wonder just how often that actually is.' she mused silently to herself.

"Sora?" Olette spoke, quickly snapping said teen from her thoughts.

"H-Huh? Sorry...I was just zoning out a bit." Sora responded quickly with a sheepish smile.

"I'll say, you even dropped your ice cream." Pence stated while pointing down to the glimmer of blue falling toward the ground.

Sora instantly let out a yelp before she instinctually jumped off the ledge, making each of the others call out her name in a panic. As she fell though, the girl caught up to her ice cream and grabbed the wooden stick quickly. Her not even being able to smile at this accomplishment before her feet hit the brick-lined street. Of which cracked under her, yet she seemed to minimize the damage as she bent her knees to absorb some of the impact. "Whew..." she breathed out in relief.

The brown-haired girl then used her squatted position to then push off the ground with great force. Allowing her to land back in her place at the top of the tower with ease; "That was a close one." she continued, a sheepish smile curling her lips as the group simply stared at her in awe.

A moment after these words, Sora realized her actions and made her smile become a nervous one. However, Hayner was the first to break the silence as he nudged Seifer in his side. "Still think you could beat her?" he asked in a teasing manner, obviously making light of the situation and causing Sora to blink a few times.

"Shut up." the other teen boy muttered as he let out a silent huff.

Sora looked between them for a few moments before everyone gave an expression of encouragement. Showing that none of them were bothered by this display, nor would she be judged for it. This made her features soften and become happy; 'I guess I didn't need to worry after all.' she thought silently before going back to talking normally with them.

The group enjoying this time as the last few rays of sunlight were starting to disappear over the horizon. As this happened, the entire down below began to brighten with various lights from inside, and out. But as if a light bulb also lit up within Sora's mind, she turned toward Seifer and spoke up quickly. "Oh! I completely forgot." she started, gaining everyone's attention.

"Wasn't I supposed to go through some sort of tests before you would teach me?" she questioned with a tilt of her head to the side.

These words caused Seifer to freeze up and look fully stunned. Almost everyone realizing that due to being so caught up in retraining himself, he forgot about the stipulations for actually teaching Sora in the first place. Yet he cleared his throat and glanced to the side; "I-It's good you remembered that...you passed the first test." he claimed quickly, attempting to pass it off as being his plan all along.

Despite the others gazing to him with doubt in their eyes, Sora just smiled and nodded her head in response. "I'm glad. I'll make sure to pass the rest too." she claimed innocently, making Seifer start feeling bad about lying to protect his ego.

"I'm sure you will." was all he muttered out, looking down in somewhat comical shame as many of the others laughed lightly.

Sora looked to this in a bit of amusement as she was deliberately teasing Seifer. Though she reached over and patted him on the back while offering her signature smile. The boy blinked for a moment before he found himself slowly smiling back to the girl. Whom had returned to eating and finishing off her ice cream, eventually leading for her to look at the stick in her hand. "Hmm? What's this?" she questioned, pointing to the word 'WINNER' stamped on it.

"Oh! That means you've won a free ice cream~!" Olette claimed with a wide smile.

The long-haired teen blinked to this in response before she took on a wide grin. "Awesome~!" she sang out happily.

However, her celebration was cut short when a voice echoed out around the group. "Sora? Are you there? Can you hear me?" a familiar voice spoke out.

"Huh? Merlin? What's going on?" Sora answered, looking up at the sky, despite the voice not coming from any one direction.

"I heard about the mission Yen Sid has you on, and I believe I've located Zack Fair for you. I'm sending his location to the Gummi Ship now, so make sure to hurry...we don't know how long he'll be there." Merlin answered before the voice fully faded.

Sora looked somewhat shocked before smiling widely at the thought of finally getting to see Zack again. "Will you be leaving again?" Hayner asked, snapping the girl out of her thoughts.

She then turned to him and the others, her expression becoming a bit solemn in knowing that she would have to leave yet again so soon after arriving. "Unfortunately. But I promise I'll visit much sooner next time...as well as longer." she answered, taking on a cheerful smile in order to not show her own sadness.

Her really liking these other teens, even with just hanging out with them for a few hours. 'Most of which was training. But just spending these last few hours talking and hanging out with them, I can definitely say that they'll be life-long friends for sure.' she thought to herself while giving her goodbyes to everyone.

'And just in case...I'll give them another protection spell to keep them safe.' Sora continued in her mind, offering many of the others a hug in order to cast this magic on each one.

"I'll try to be back tomorrow, so keep an eye out on the Sandlot...or the ice cream stand~!" the brown-haired girl claimed with a grin, waving the ice cream stick in her hand for reference.

"I'll also introduce you to some of my other friends too~!" she called out before jumping off the tower once more.

Only this time, the group simply waved to her before she disappeared in the teleportation flash from the Gummi ship. Where Zola was sleeping in the front seat, obviously still a bit tired from all the playing they did on the helicopter. Sora giggled softly to this before looking to Ursa in one of the other seats, seeming to also be asleep. "Such lazy bones." she commented with false disappointment, to which she then just laughed silently.

However, she then moved toward the main computer console and looked over the location that had been recently transmitted to it. "Lets see he-" she started, yet stopped short as she had to triple check the information she was reading.

"It worked..." she whispered, a wide and relieved smile curling her lips.

"It actually worked."

* * *

 **And there you have it, Sora's making friends with both groups and is practicing to become a Sword Master. Though, can she really learn so many things all at once? Magic, Darkness, Kung Fu, Swordsmanship, Light...and even the newfound Jenova cells...something will have to give eventually. Will there be a breaking point? Is Sora setting herself up for failure? Will there be a seat for Vincent to sit in when he teleports to the Gummi ship? Find out soon in the next installment. Until then everyone.**


	73. Dark Age England part VII

**Sorry that this is a week late. I hit a really hard patch of writer's block. It's still lingering unfortunately, so I'm thinking after next chapter, I'll finally take the break I was talking about a while back. Anyway, I hope that all of you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

 **Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II**

Chapter 72: Dark Age England part VII

"So it was only a few months after we left that this world had fallen?" Sora questioned as she walked alongside Merlin through the streets of London.

"That's right, which was over fifteen years ago from the present day. But since time doesn't move in the Realm of Darkness, nothing has actually changed since then." the wizard responded, the pair heading toward a tall castle that was visible over the rooftops of the nearby buildings.

As they walked however, the teen glanced around to the people going about their business. None of them seeming to pay any attention to the two as most were too focused on their own tasks. Whether it was deliveries, shopping, or even just talking amongst each other. Yet Sora soon turned back to Merlin with a small smile; "So how does it feel to be back home?"

The elder man looked back to her and gained a smile of his own; "It's a wonderful feeling. I feared that this world would be lost forever. So I'm very grateful to you in bringing it back." he said as the smile on his features widened slightly.

"Even if I kinda broke the rules about meddling with the past?" Sora asked in a somewhat sheepish manner, to which Merlin simply chuckled.

"I suppose certain rules can be bent, so long as it's not directly influencing something that's already established." he answered, lifting a finger up as if to further his point.

Sora giggled to this before nodding slowly and tilting her head up to the sky. "Though...I'm still surprised that my spell even worked." she uttered out silently.

"I'm still quite curious about that actually." Merlin commented thoughtfully, leading for the teen to look toward him once more.

"You said that you reached into the essence of the sword in order to feel its core, and then cast a spell of Time magic upon it?" the wizard continued, his tone sounding as though he was hoping for further clarification.

"Basically...yeah." Sora started, shifting her gaze down while crossing both arms under her chest.

"The spell itself was something I started making during my time in Castle Oblivion. It was supposed to be a way for me to pull myself out of the Realm of Darkness...if I ever found my way there again." she said as a brief shiver ran up her spine.

"It's not somewhere I wish to return to, so I wanted some sort of precaution." the girl added with a shrug.

Though she paused for a moment, the girl then quickly cleared her throat and continued on. "But since I had yet to test the spell, I figured that if it could work on an object like Excalibur...then it could work on me."

"I didn't actually expect it to work on the whole world, but I was hoping that due to the sword's own power, it could bring this world along with it." she finished, giving a somewhat ashamed smile.

This expression clearly being from the fact that she didn't even intend for things to work out as well as they had, yet she is still getting credit as if she did. However, Merlin simply smiled and patted her on the shoulder; "It might have been your 'impossible, but best case scenario', yet even those can sometimes be possible." he claimed with a wider smile, eventually making Sora gain a similar expression.

"Thanks Merlin." the teen whispered, earning a nod in response as they arrived in front of the castle gates.

"But I will say..." the wizard spoke up as the guards seemed to recognize the elder man and began opening the large doors.

"...I'm not quite sure that it was only magic you used to bring Excalibur and this world back. I think there is another power at play here, one that the Keyblade has been known to have." he finished while walking through the now open gate.

Sora blinked many times in response, yet quickly followed after Merlin as the pair made their way into a large hall. Of which had variously color drapes hanging almost everywhere across the high ceiling, many having completely different symbols and insignias on them. The floor was in a checker formation with various shapes within each square that appeared to repeat every few tiles. All of the stone walls and pillars were of a similar brown color that the entrance doors were. But directly ahead, with a red rug leading up to it, was a raised throne at the far end of the hall.

Sitting upon said seat, was a very distressed looking Arthur as he had an over-sized crown and a very long red coat atop his normal clothes. The boy blinked a few times to the familiar blue-robed man, to which he then jumped out of the throne and rushed toward him. "Merlin! I'm so glad you're here!" the boy called out in panic, him only noticing the wizard as he stood between the two teens.

"A bunch of people were talking about assigning Councilmen, Dukes and a bunch of other things. I don't know what to do." Arthur continued while looking to Merlin in a pleading manner.

"Now now, no need to worry. You're an excellent judge of character, you should have more faith in yourself." the elder man claimed with a smile, adjusting the obviously too large crown atop the boy's head.

This causing it to slide down and overtake his entire vision, to which Arthur pushed it back in order to allow himself to see again. While doing so, Merlin had sidestepped to the right and revealed Sora as the girl waved to him. "Yo...long time no see." she hummed out with a small grin.

The blond gazed to her in shock as he immediately froze up, a flush overtaking his cheeks. "S-Sora..." he squeaked out, clearing his throat soon after.

"Y-You're here." the boy continued, still attempting to to recover from the surprise.

"Yep, I decided to stop by since I've been away for a while." Sora responded, giving a sheepish smile while scratching the back of her neck.

"Oh no, that's alright...I mean...I'm just glad you're here." he said in a somewhat nervous tone.

"You do seem a bit in over your head." the girl commented, causing the other teen to tilt his head down in a defeated manner.

"Oh! Sorry...um...I didn't mean it like that." Sora said quickly, waving both hands in front of herself in an effort to apologize.

Merlin chuckled to this while glancing between the pair; "Now now, no need to get so down. We're here to help each other and will do our very best to do so." he started with a small smile.

"Sora is looking for someone, whom I believe has taken up residence here. And you are seeking guidance for these political issues. But I have no doubt that the solution for both these problems lay just within reach." the wizard continued, his voice and tone being very wise as the three gave him a nod.

It was then that Sora realized there was an extra person in their group standing directly beside her. This caused the girl to immediately let out a rather cute yelp and fall right into Arthur. Said boy attempting to catch her, but his weak limbs couldn't do much as they tumbled to the floor together. "Whoa...sorry about that." the figure hummed out, to which Sora blinked many times to the familiarity of this voice.

She slowly turned her gaze toward this person and simply stared in shock as Zack waved to her. "Sup." he hummed out as a small grin curled his lips.

"Zack..." the girl whispered out, swiftly standing up as she didn't even notice that she practically crushed Arthur.

The blond himself having all but passed out, though it was unclear which collision he lost consciousness from, the floor...or Sora's chest. But as Merlin helped the boy sit up, he slowly started to wake back up with a silent groan. He then blinked rapidly before looking over to Sora and this new arrival; "Oh...you're Lancelot, right?" he questioned while slowly standing up.

"I didn't know you had returned to the castle already." Arthur continued just as Sora was about to hug Zack.

"Huh?" the girl uttered while raising a brow in confusion.

"'Lancelot'?" she echoed, tilting her head slightly to the side.

"Well...I didn't wanna be known as 'Zack Fair' around people with names like 'Ector', 'Pellinore' and 'Pendragon'." Zack claimed with a somewhat exasperated expression.

Sora blinked multiple times before she let out a heavy breath and nodded. The two seeming to share some sort of understanding with one another, to which they just tilted their heads down. Merlin sighed heavily upon seeing this, all as Arthur blinked in his confusion. "Do...Do you two know one another?" he questioned, glancing between the pair.

"You could say that." Sora said, nodding her head and looking toward the blond.

"We only met the one time, but I'd say that we became pretty fast friends, huh?" Zack added as a smile curled his lips.

"I like to think so." the girl responded with a smile of her own.

Arthur looked between them before his gaze seemed to focus on Sora, his expression asking whether or not the same could be said about her and himself. Upon seeing this, the girl simply smiled widely to him as if confirming this. "So what sort of problems are you hoping to solve? Since Zack sort of found us, there's no need to go out looking for him." she hummed out, giving the raven-haired man a brief nudge in his side.

Whom chuckled lightly as he looked from Sora before to the side, him noticing a brief flash of movement in the room with them. Though he became a bit more on edge, the others just continued on with their conversation with Arthur explaining things. However, Zack took a few long moments to look around, to which he eventually looked up to one of the open views on the higher levels. I being there that he saw Vincent sitting on the edge of the opening with his back leaned against the corner wall.

Despite there not being much recognition, Zack still appeared to know whom the man was and relaxed. "I see you saw my bodyguard." Sora commented with a giggle and a wave toward Vincent.

Said man briefly waving back with his armored hand, yet didn't say anything. All the while, Zack glanced over to the teen girl and whistled; "Wow...talk about the VIP treatment." he muttered, to which Sora laughed lightly.

"Maybe, though...he volunteered, so I don't know if it counts." she added, shrugging both shoulders along with the raven-haired man.

"Who knows." Zack muttered before turning to Merlin and Arthur; "So what's the plan?"

The old wizard sighed lightly while closing his eyes, likely to keep everyone from seeing his eye-roll. "If you had been paying attention, you'd know that we were discussing a solution to the problem of needing knights." he started, him gaining a thoughtful gaze while looking up.

"Having them will help with needing to choose 'Councilmen' and 'Dukes'. Knights themselves are able to govern lands designated by the King, so many of the other difficulties will also be handled indirectly." Merlin continued, him turning back to Arthur by the end.

Whom smiled in a relieved manner as he was grateful for just the idea alone. Zack however, raised a brow and tilted his head up in thought. "That's nice and all...but that's a pretty big responsibility on its own. You'd need some really trustworthy people to take up such a task." he stated while staring rather knowingly to the elder man.

Said wizard looked back to him before his expression gained an almost mischievous smile. "Well...I do have a few in mind...'Sir Lancelot'." he said, his tone making it clear that he was hinting toward something Zack wasn't able to pick up on.

Sora glanced between the three for a moment, her being just as confused as the raven-haired man. Though, both she and Zack slowly started to understand Merlin's words, mainly thanks to the immediate silence that followed his words. "Uh-oh..." they both muttered silently with a nervous gulp.

* * *

 **And there you have it. Sora and Zack are about to be roped into some shenanigans. ;D**

 **By the way, the next chapter should still be out on time, and after that, I'll be taking a break. I'll let you know for how long when the next chapter comes since I'm still not sure yet. But I will say that the next one will be from a fully different perspective, thanks to the suggestion from Bighead98. Hopefully it'll help with my writer's block and let me keep this story going for everyone.**

 **Anyway, until next time everyone.**


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